Of Flame and Ash
by HyrulianJedi
Summary: Chapter 7: What happens when Ash and Blaine are asked to help save a town from a mysterious Pokemon? Nothing anyone would expect, that's for sure. -DISCONTINUED-
1. Puff Hunt

Me: How y'all doing? (I can't believe I just said that.) Anyway, this is my second fic (If you read my last one, I'll sick Mewtwo on you).  
  
Mewtwo: What? Ordering people is my job!  
  
Me: *glares at Mewtwo*  
  
Mewtwo: Erm, right.  
  
Me: Just get on with the disclaimer.  
  
Mewtwo: He doesn't own Pokemon or any part of it.  
  
Me: That's right. It belongs to, um, someone else. Oh well, on with the show!  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
Of Flame and Ash  
Chapter 1: Puff Hunt  
  
ATTENTION CITIZENS OF PEWTER CITY!  
  
There is a disturbance in our town.  
  
Local residents and trainers have been complaining about a Jigglypuff putting them to sleep.  
  
The Pewter City Police Department is offering a reward of $300 for the capture of the Pokemon.  
  
The person who captures it may keep it, set it free away from the city, or any other legal thing.  
  
For full details, see Officer Jenny.  
  
Thank you for your cooperation.  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
A boy walked down the street with the poster clutched tightly in his hand. He was dressed in a black shirt with a blue and white jacket over it. He also had on a cap with a small symbol on it. The boy was Ash Ketchum.  
  
The poster he was holding had been put up that morning, and he noticed it when he was entering the city. Not someone to be outdone, he was determined to find the Jigglypuff and win the prize.  
  
Ash looked down next to him to find his faithful Pikachu looking back up at him. When he left Pallet Town, his Pikachu was being stubborn and refused to go into his Poke Ball. They finally reached an agreement, much to the relief of Ash, who was close to becoming a light bulb.  
  
He smiled and said, "Let's go find us a Jigglypuff!"  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
Meanwhile, another person had spotted the poster. His mouth fell open and he exclaimed, "Jeez! That's a hefty sum! With that I could buy some gifts for the Boss and get back on his good side!" The man smiled and quietly continued. "Now I just need a Jigglypuff. There has to be someone around here who has one."  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
Another Weedle fell to the ground, unconscious, as Ash muttered, "That's the sixth one! If I didn't know better, I'd say this place was a Weedle reserve."  
  
Pikachu jumped on his shoulder and said, "Pi-pikachu."  
  
A sudden rustling was heard behind them. Pikachu jumped down and fired an electric attack into the bushes. It was met with a beam of fire and both were dissipated.  
  
"Show yourself! There are no fire-types in Viridian Forest, so you must be a trainer," Ash shouted as he stepped forward.  
  
A boy about Ash's age stepped out of the bushes with a Growlithe. The boy was dressed in a white shirt and a red vest with black pockets. "What do we have for him, Johnny?" He chuckled as Growlithe rolled his eyes. "The name's Blaine. You?"  
  
"I'm Ash, and this is Pikachu."  
  
"This is Growlithe." Blaine then commented, "You should teach your Pikachu not to shock anything that moves in Viridian Forest. It's likely to anger a swarm of Beedrill."  
  
"I know that!" Ash snapped.  
  
Blaine crossed his arms and said dryly, "Well, you sure don't act like you do."  
  
Ash turned his cap backwards. "Why don't we have a battle and I'll show you what I know?"  
  
Blaine chuckled and nodded. "Gladly."  
  
Pikachu and Growlithe leapt forward, charging up their attacks. They landed and were about to unleash them, when another Pokemon walked between them. Upon seeing the round, pink body, and triangle shaped ears, both Pokemon immediately stopped their respective attacks.  
  
The two humans froze, waiting to see what the Jigglypuff would do.  
  
Blaine took a few steps back and said softly, "I think we should run."  
  
"You're just trying to get me to leave so you can get it." Ash shot back.  
  
Wide-eyed, Blaine turned to him. "Do you know what this thing can do?"  
  
Before Ash could answer, Jigglypuff pulled out a small marker and started to sing.  
  
"Jiiiig-glyyyy-pufffff, Jigggglyyyy-y-y-pufffff"  
"Jiiiig-glyyyy-pufffff, Jigggglyyyyyyyyyy"  
"Jiiiig-glyyyy-pufffff, Jigggglyyyy-y-y-pufffff"  
"Jiiiig-glyyyy-pufffff, Jigggglyyyyyyyyyyyyyy"  
  
All four slumped down and fell sound asleep as they became victims of Jigglypuff's song.  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
One hour and fourteen minutes later, Pikachu woke up and groggily walked over to a stream to get some water. He looked at the reflection and let out a shout, along with a Thundershock to go with it. The lightning woke Ash and Blaine.  
  
The two boys looked at each other and started laughing their heads off. After a moment they both stopped and said, at the same time, "What's so funny?"  
  
Right then, Pikachu came running up. "Pika-pi!"  
  
Ash bent down to talk to Pikachu. "What's wrong?"  
  
Pikachu pointed at Ash and started rubbing his own face all over. Ash looked at Blaine and asked, "Do you know what he's saying?"  
  
Blaine chuckled. "I sure do. You have black marks all over your face."  
  
Ash wiped his hand across his face and looked at it. There was a black smudge on it. "Ahhh! Who did this to us?"  
  
Blaine raised an eyebrow. "Us? What do you mean, us?"  
  
Now it was Ash's turn to chuckle. "Us, as in me, you, Pikachu, and Growlithe."  
  
Blaine looked over at Growlithe who was just waking up. He looked up at the two trainers, tilted his head, and said, "Groww?"  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
"These tracks are fresh. It can't be too far away." A man dressed in white with a red R on his shirt was talking to himself. "Wait a minute. Don't they say talking to yourself is a sign that you're crazy? Nah, couldn't be. I joined Team Rocket, didn't I? That's a sign of intelligence right there."  
  
He stepped out into the clearing and spotted two trainers washing their faces. He smiled and said quietly, "Ah, fresh meat." He jumped in front of them and loudly said, "Alright boys, hand over your Pokemon and nobody gets hurt."  
  
After a moment of dead silence, Blaine said, "How about this. You leave now, and you don't get hurt."  
  
The Rocket laughed. "So it's a battle you want?" His face turned serious, his blue hair reflecting the slight sunlight. "So be it."  
  
A woman dressed similar to him suddenly walked from behind the group. She spotted the man and started shouting at him. "Hey you! Back off! I spotted them first!"  
  
"No way! I'm stealing their Pokemon! Go find your own!"  
  
The women walked up to him and whipped her long red hair at him. It hit him in the face and he fell down. She looked down at him, the vein in her head pulsing. "Whatever I say goes, got it?!" After he nodded she continued. "Now help me swipe the Pokemon and I'll split the credit with you, 50/50"  
  
He grinned and pulled out a Poke Ball, as did his new partner. Ash and Blaine looked at each other and then sighed. They all sent out their Pokemon as the battle started.  
  
"Pikachu, I choose you!"  
  
"Growlithe, go!"  
  
"Go, Ekans!"  
  
"Let's go, Koffing!"  
  
The red-haired member of Team Rocket was the first to act. "Ekans, use your Poison Sting attack on that Growlithe!" A bombardment of small needles was sent flying at the puppy Pokemon.  
  
Her partner called out his attack after her. "Koffing, Sludge that Pikachu!"  
  
Ash and Blaine reacted quickly, retaliating with attacks of their own.  
  
"Use Ember to burn up those needles, then hit the snake with it. Easier done than said." The small flames from Growlithe flew through the needles, disintegrating them on contact. They never reached the snake, though, because it had gone underground as soon as it fired its attack.  
  
Pikachu was not so lucky. He took the poisonous goo directly in the face as Ash cried out to him. "Pikachu! Try a Thundershock attack!" He had opposite luck once again. Its electricity hit Koffing and the Pokemon lit up like a Christmas tree ornament.  
  
Blaine wasn't ignoring the underground threat. In fact, he was trying to hold in a laugh. He looked at the women and said, "You should never use any digging move on me." He looked at his Pokemon and grinned. "Growlithe, you know what to do."  
  
The fire-type trotted over to the hole and looked into it. He then abruptly shot a blast of fire into it. The fire disappeared around the bend as everyone waited. A few seconds later, there was a screeching sound as a purple snake erupted from the ground, along with a stream of fire. It went up slightly, then fell back to the ground. And standing on the ground beneath it just happened to be Team Rocket.  
  
As they stood back up, the blue-haired man gave his Pokemon one last command. "We will be back. Koffing, Smog!"  
  
As it emitted its toxic gas, Blaine said to Growlithe, "Ember attack that Smog. Blow 'em sky high." He promptly grabbed Ash and started running in the opposite direction, with Pikachu close behind. "That's our cue to get out of here."  
  
He turned around and looked as the gas cloud became a fire cloud as the two attacks mixed. There was an explosion followed by the sound of the Rocket duo shouting, "Look's like we're blasting off! We'll meet again!"  
  
Ash, Pikachu, and Blaine stopped running as Growlithe caught up. Ash looked at Blaine and commented, "Well, that's something you don't see everyday." Blaine looked over at Ash and they both burst out laughing.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Author's Note: Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this at the beginning. For the sole purpose of writing this fic, Blaine is no longer an old guy and is not a Gym Leader (yet). Chapter 2 coming soon to a web page near you. 


	2. The Catch of the Day

Of Flame and Ash  
Chapter 2: The Catch of the Day  
  
Something in the sky sparkled and caught the attention of a Meowth. It looked up at the growing spot. Too late, it realized that something was falling. It got up and started to run away, but two people landed on it.  
  
After a moment, a female voice spoke. "That was painful."  
  
Another person spoke after that, this one male. "You can say that again."  
  
A third voice suddenly came out, slightly muffled. "Hey, what's da' big idea?" The Meowth crawled out from beneath them and said, "What'd ya' fall on me for?"  
  
The humans' mouths dropped open. Meowth looked at them and asked, "What's da' matta'? Ain't ya' ever seen a talkin' Meowth before?"  
  
"A talking Meowth." they said in unison. The woman turned to her partner and said, "Do you have any idea how much it would be worth?"  
  
The man thoughtfully responded, "It would make us rich! Hmmm, I wonder how many bottle caps I could get with that money."  
  
Meowth growled and shouted, "Ya' ain't sellin' me ta' no one!" He jumped up and scratched each of them across the face. "Ya' got that?" He calmed down and said, "Maybe we can work out an agreement."  
  
The Rockets turned away and huddled together, whispering quietly to each other. After a moment they turned back around. The woman asked, "How would you like to be a part of Team Rocket?"  
  
Meowth shrugged and said, "What's dat?"  
  
"It's an organization all about stealing Pokemon and various other crimes for the benefit of evil."  
  
Meowth shrugged again and said, "I don't see a reason why not."  
  
The man jumped up and shook Meowth's hand. "Welcome to the group then. I'm James and this is, um, uh."  
  
His partner scoffed and said, "Jessie. Don't go thinking about great big prizes yet, though." She looked over at James. "We still have a personal score to settle with a couple kids."  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
"So how come your Growlithe doesn't stay in it's Poke Ball?" Ash asked Blaine as they walked out of the forest.  
  
"Are you sure that's any of your business?"  
  
"Uh, er, um." Ash stuttered as Blaine's grin grew wider.  
  
Blaine waved his hand at him. "Ah, I was just kidding. I haven't had anyone to talk to except Growlithe, and he doesn't make very good conversation." Growlithe made a growling sound that seemed like laughing as Blaine continued. "I'm an orphan. When I found Growlithe, I didn't have the money to get a Poke Ball. Even though I have the money now, it just wouldn't feel right."  
  
Ash felt it best not to pry into why he was an orphan, so instead he asked, "Don't you want to know the same about Pikachu?"  
  
Blaine shrugged. "I already have an idea." He looked at Ash. "Pikachu are known as stubborn Pokemon. If they don't like something, then they won't have anything to do with it. Whether it be a Poke Ball or food, they are very picky."  
  
Ash's mouth dropped. "How do you know all that?"  
  
"I don't have any other place to go, so I hang out at the library a lot and research Pokemon. Although it's usually fire-types in the book."  
  
"Why fire-types?"  
  
"Me and Growlithe made a vow." Blaine looked down at Growlithe. "I pledged to become the greatest fire master ever and Growlithe promised to help me achieve that goal, no matter what."  
  
He looked back at Ash to find him crying. "That was so beautiful!" Blaine rolled his eyes as Ash dried his.  
  
"So what are you going to do?"  
  
Ash looked up and asked, "Me? I want to be the world's greatest Pokemon master!"  
  
"Woo, that's original." Blaine said while wiggling his fingers.  
  
"Hey! I didn't make fun of you!" Ash snapped.  
  
Blaine held his hands out in front of him and said, "Woah, calm down! I only meant that you have a lot of competition. Whereas I probably only have a few other people and the Cinnabar Island Gym Leader."  
  
Ash blinked. "What's so special about Cinnabar Island?"  
  
I wonder if he just woke up one morning and said, "I think I'll train Pokemon," Blaine thought. Aloud, he said, "The Cinnabar Island Gym is a fire-type Gym. My first goal is to become the Leader there."  
  
"How do you do that?" Ash questioned.  
  
"If you can beat the present Leader in a 6 on 6 battle using only the type that is trained there, you take control of the Gym," Blaine explained. "You also have to have at least five other badges to prove that you're worthy of leading a Gym."  
  
As they walked into the city, Ash looked around and said, "We're here already? It seemed longer last time." An affirmative sound was heard from Pikachu. "Anyway, I'm going to heal Pikachu and then go to the Gym. Do you want to come?"  
  
Blaine raised an eyebrow. "Is that Pikachu your only Pokemon?"  
  
"Yeah, why?" Ash responded.  
  
Blaine frowned and said, "Because you'll get creamed if you go in there." When Ash opened his mouth to speak, Blaine continued. "The Gym Leader there trains rock-type Pokemon. You'll need another Pokemon if you even want a chance at winning." He paused and looked to his side. "And I think I know just the place to get one."  
  
Pikachu was furious, and Ash was too. "Me and Pikachu can take on anything! Even if it is a rock Pokemon!" With that he stormed off in the direction of the Gym.  
  
Blaine sighed and looked at Growlithe. "He'll learn. He'll have to, if he ever wants to win."  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
Ash opened the doors of the Gym and walked in slowly. "Hello? Helloooo? Is anyone here? I want to have a Gym battle."  
  
"If you're looking for a battle, then you've found one." In the back of the Gym, a young man stood up. "My name is Brock and I'm the leader of the Pewter City Gym."  
  
"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and I've come to earn a Boulderbadge!"  
  
Brock smiled and said, "Well, not to disappoint you, but you won't be getting one today. Is a 2 on 2 battle okay with you?"  
  
Ash sweatdropped. "Ah, well, you see, I only have one Pokemon."  
  
Brock nodded. "Fine then. A 1 on 1." He clapped his hands once and the whole room shook. The regular floor parted and a rocky field rose in it's place.  
  
An announcer said over a microphone, "This is a 1 on 1 battle with no time limit for the Boulderbadge. The challenger is Ash Ketchum. Let the battle begin!"  
  
Brock immediately threw a Poke Ball onto the field. "Go, Onix!" A large stone snake erupted from the ball, covering half of the field.  
  
Ash had a blank look on his face as he pulled out his Pokedex. "What's that?"  
  
Dexter gave the info in a very monotone voice. "Onix. The rock snake Pokemon. As it grows, the stone portions of its body harden to become similar to a diamond, but colored black."  
  
Ash thought about that for a second. "Hard as a diamond, that's not good. I choose you, Pikachu! Give it your strongest Thunderbolt!"  
  
Pikachu let loose a mighty electric shock. It hit the snake, but didn't even faze it. Brock yelled out to Ash, "You should know that only powerful electric attacks can hit a ground-type Pokemon. Now, Onix, use Rock Smash!"  
  
"Pikachu, Agility!"  
  
As Onix launched itself at Pikachu, the mouse suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Onix. Onix anticipated this, however, and whipped his tail, smacking Pikachu across the Gym.  
  
Brock folded his arms and said, "Onix, use your Dig attack!" The rock-type jumped up and burrowed into the Gym floor. After a few seconds, Brock said, "It's all over. Onix, emerge with a Headbutt!" There was a rumbling sound, and then Onix burst from the ground, hitting Pikachu on its way out. The rodent flew into the air and landed on the floor with a thud.  
  
A shout rang out in the Gym. "Pikachu!" Ash was already by Pikachu's side, picking him up. "Pikachu, are you okay?" Pikachu moaned slightly and then fainted.  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
Ash ran into the Pokemon center and straight to the counter. "Please, Nurse Joy, you have to help my Pikachu!"  
  
Nurse Joy smiled and calmly said, "It's all right. Your Pikachu is only unconscious. Come back in about 5 minutes and it will be fine."  
  
Ash bowed slightly. "Thank you." He turned around to grab a seat and spotted Blaine. He walked over to him and muttered, "Don't even say it."  
  
Blaine sighed. "I wasn't going to."  
  
Ash looked up after a minute. "Where did you want to take me?"  
  
Blaine unfolded his arms and said, "There's a cave just outside of the town that leads to Vermilion City. It's full of Diglett and a few Dugtrio. I recommend that you go there and catch one. Rock-types are weak against ground-types, so you'd have a type advantage too."  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
"It's dark in here." Ash commented as he, Blaine, Pikachu, and Growlithe walked down the path.  
  
"That's why I have this." Blaine reached into his vest and pulled out a small lantern. It had a tiny flame in it, but was very bright.  
  
Ash looked at the cause of the sudden brightness and asked, "What is that and where did you get it?"  
  
"This is a flame of Moltres. The Pokemon League had a contest with this as the prize, so I sent in about a million postcards to get it."  
  
"Really?" Ash said, wide-eyed. "I did the same thing to get this hat!"  
  
Blaine's expression turned thoughtful. "Maybe this was fate, and the two of us were destined to meet." They looked at each other before saying, at the same time, "Nah."  
  
After they had a good laugh, Blaine suddenly raised his hand. "Shhh." A faint scratching sound could be heard up ahead. He motioned for Ash and their Pokemon to follow, their footsteps making no sound.  
  
They turned a corner and saw a Diglett rubbing up against the wall. Ash sighed. "I was hoping it would be a Dugtrio."  
  
Blaine turned to him. "A Pokemon caught at a lower level will be easier to train and will be stronger. You should try to catch this one. It looks pretty strong."  
  
Ash raised an eyebrow. "How would you know? I thought you only train fire- types."  
  
"Where do you think I train? There's no challenge in burning bugs, so I come here."  
  
The Diglett suddenly turned to them and let out a shrill cry. Blaine put his head in his hands. "Great. It spotted us. You'd better do something before it leaves." He swallowed hard. "Or worse: reinforcements arrive."  
  
Ash once again pulled out his Pokedex. "Diglett. The mole Pokemon. It prefers dark places, so it spends most of its time underground, though it may pop up in caves."  
  
"All right. Pikachu, go!" Pikachu leapt forward, awaiting his first command. Ash got into a thinking position. "Let's see, what moves does Pikachu know that would affect him? I know! Pikachu, Quick Attack!" He looked around, but to his amazement, Diglett was nowhere to be found. "What? Where'd it go?"  
  
"Hey Ash!" Blaine shouted. "What goes up must come down, right? What's the opposite of that?"  
  
"What goes up must come down, what goes down," he suddenly gasped and looked at Pikachu, "must come up! Pikachu, jump!" Pikachu leapt into the air right as Diglett came up underneath him with a ferocious Headbutt. As he landed, Diglett came after him again, a few small rocks sticking on his side and moving upwards. Before Pikachu could get away, Diglett was on him. After a second, it got off, leaving three small red lines on Pikachu's face.  
  
"So that's how they use their Scratch attack," Blaine murmured as he motioned to the small rocks lying at the feet of Ash's Pokemon.  
  
"Come on Pikachu! Let's show that Diglett our Agility!" Pikachu became a blur as it ran around the tunnel, leaving a cloud of sand wherever it went.  
  
"No Ash! Using Agility will only give it time to." Blaine was cut off as a scratching sound was heard. ".go underground again." Pikachu stopped running and looked at the hole left by the mole.  
  
Ash frowned. "This is my only chance. Pikachu, follow Diglett into its hole!" Blaine looked at Ash like he was crazy, but Ash just shook his head. "I know what I'm doing. You'll see."  
  
The sounds of a scuffle could be heard under the cave. A small tremor was felt, and a hole opened up. Diglett popped out. Everyone was still for a minute, until a small yellow paw reached up and bopped Diglett on the head. It drooped and Pikachu jumped out from behind it and said, "Pika!"  
  
It was the only invitation Ash needed. He pulled out a Poke Ball and enlarged it. "Poke Ball, go!" he shouted as he threw the ball. It hit the tired ground-type and sucked it inside. The ball closed and landed on the ground softly. It shook once. It shook a second time. It shook a third time and the small light in the center went off.  
  
Ash leapt into the air and cheered. He grabbed the Poke Ball and held it out in front of him. "I caught a Diglett!" He then proceeded to jump up and down yelling.  
  
His enthusiasm didn't last long, however. A large tremor was felt as five Diglett popped out of the ground in front of him. A large hole opened up behind them as three Diglett popped out together.  
  
Once more, Ash grabbed his Pokedex. "Dugtrio. The mole Pokemon. This evolved form of Diglett burrows underground, triggering earthquakes."  
  
The cave started to shake as Blaine shouted, "That's Dugtrio's Earthquake attack! We have to get out of here, NOW!" Ash picked up Pikachu and ran as fast as he could as Blaine and Growlithe ran behind them. Blaine turned around, stopped, and yelled, "Keep going! I'll stall them!" Growlithe then shot small flames at the charging Diglett. They stopped and fled in the opposite direction. The Dugtrio was not as easily startled.  
  
"Trio!" it cried in a shrill voice. Blaine pulled out a Poke Ball.  
  
"Time to make our getaway." He threw the ball and a small horse with flames on its head and back came out. "All right Ponyta, we need to get out of here," Blaine said as he jumped on the pony. Growlithe jumped onto Blaine's back as Ponyta ran off. A few seconds later, they passed a stunned Ash and Pikachu and left the cave. Blaine climbed down and stood there praising Ponyta. "Good job. You're getting faster already."  
  
Ash came out of the cave, and out of breath too. He put Pikachu down and leaned up against a tree until he could talk again. "What is that?"  
  
Blaine smiled and said, "Her? She's my Ponyta. I caught her when you went to the Gym."  
  
For the fourth time that day, Dexter's monotone voice sounded. "Ponyta. The fire horse Pokemon. With hooves that are ten times harder than diamonds, it can trample almost anything flat in little time."  
  
Blaine looked lovingly back at his new Pokemon and said, "Ponyta are some of the fastest land Pokemon around. That would explain how it got here, considering they don't normally live around here." He paused and sighed wistfully. "It's with that same speed that I'm going to run circles around Brock with."  
  
~~~~~  
  
AN: Forgot the disclaimer. I don't own Pokemon or any part of it. My stepbrother and I do own the rights to this story however (I think. If I'm wrong, please let me know). Please read & review. All constructive criticism will be gratefully accepted, and all flames will be given to Growlithe. Chapter 3 and a Gym battle will be coming soon. 


	3. Battle for the Badge

Of Flame and Ash  
  
Chapter 3: Battle for the Badge  
  
"So, you decided to come back. And with a friend this time." Brock noted as he sat in his stone chair.  
  
Ash stepped forward. "That's right, and this time I won't lose!" All of a sudden, Ash was abruptly pulled back.  
  
"Don't think so. You had your turn, so I'm going first." Blaine said as he stepped in Ash's place.  
  
Brock realized who it was and smiled. "Blaine, so nice of you to come see me!"  
  
The fire trainer shook his head slowly. "Sorry Brock, but this time," here he paused for drama, "I challenge you to a Gym match!"  
  
Brock chuckled and said, "Sure thing, but you know I'll just smother those fire-types of yours. A 1 on 1 okay with you?"  
  
Blain grinned and narrowed his eyes. "How about a 2 on 2 instead?"  
  
Brock nodded and pulled out a Poke Ball. "You got it. Go, Geodude!" A small boulder with arms and hands came out and hovered over the field, which had been switched to the rocky one.  
  
From behind him, Blaine heard a voice. "Geodude. The rock Pokemon." Dexter said. "Commonly found near mountain trails, etc. If you step on one by accident, it gets angry."  
  
"All right, then you're up Growlithe." Growlithe stepped forward from his trainer's side, a puff of smoke coming from his nostrils. Blaine pointed at Geodude and yelled, "Go, Growlithe, use your Bite attack!" The dog ran up and grabbed hold of Geodude via his teeth, but it simply punched him and he fell off.  
  
Now it was Brock's turn. "Geodude, Rock Throw!" Geodude floated down and grabbed a rock. It then threw it at Growlithe, who was getting up slowly.  
  
"Quick, use Agility!" Blaine shouted frantically, but it was to no avail. Growlithe stood up and was hit by the rock, sending it flying back a few feet. Blaine growled slightly and said, "Give it your Ember! Bring it down!" The fire-type shot multiple flames at Brock's Pokemon. They hit, but Geodude barely flinched.  
  
"You see Blaine? You can't beat me, no matter what." Brock said smugly. "Finish it off with a Tackle." Geodude rushed at Growlithe. It connected with Growlithe's weak body with a thump. Growlithe's limp body rolled over twice before stopping. Everyone was still.  
  
Suddenly, Blaine's eyes turned a fiery red. A moment later, Growlithe's head snapped up, his eyes mimicking Blaine's. Blaine, in a uncontrollable rage, shouted, "Flamethrower attack now!" Growlithe jumped to his feet and opened his mouth. Small red particles could be seen entering and gathering in the center of the mouth. All at once, it was released. And in the line of fire was Geodude.  
  
When the fire let up, Everyone saw that Geodude had turned black and it breathed out a puff of smoke. It then plopped to the ground, severely burned.  
  
Brock's eyes were wide as his opponents' eyes returned to normal. "That's impossible!" He shook his head and recalled Geodude. He pulled out another Poke Ball and threw it. "This one is for Geodude. Onix, I choose you!" The rock snake made it's way onto the stony field as it did the day before.  
  
Growlithe stood before it, unafraid, ready to see it to the end. Blaine, however, had different plans. "Growlithe, return." The puppy looked back at Blaine in a disappointed manner, but obeyed. Blaine pulled out his other Poke Ball and released it, shouting, "Ponyta, go!"  
  
As the pony and the snake stared each other down, Brock yelled, "Hey Blaine! You do know my Onix's skin is as hard as a diamond, right?"  
  
Blaine raised an eyebrow while smiling and retorted, "Hey Brock! You do know my Ponyta's hooves are ten times harder than diamonds, right?" He chuckled at the Leader's gaping mouth. "Ponyta, use your Stomp attack!"  
  
The pony ran forward and jumped up, bringing her front hooves down on her stone-skinned opponent. A large crack formed in the section that was hit and Onix let out a loud, pain-filled bellow. Brock was quick to react. "Onix, Tail Whip!" The Pokemon's long tail careened towards Ponyta, smashing her into the nearby wall.  
  
Ponyta got up easily as Blaine and Ash cheered. "All right Ponyta. If we're going to beat him, we need to limit his movement."  
  
"And just how do you plan on doing that?" Brock questioned.  
  
"Watch and learn, Brocky boy. Ponyta, burn the sand in front of Onix!" Ponyta shot flames at the indicated area, as Brock and Onix watched with amusement.  
  
After a minute, Brock called out, "Look's like that plan of yours didn't work. Too bad, so sad." His face turned serious. "Onix, Headbutt that horse!"  
  
Onix shot forward, but didn't get very far. It slipped and fell onto its side. Blaine was laughing his head off. "You should watch how your field changes, Brock. Ponyta used her hot flames to melt the sand on the floor, turning it to glass. That's what your Onix slipped on." Blaine stopped laughing. "Now we've got a badge to win. Ponyta, Stomp attack!"  
  
The fire horse ran forward a second time and brought her hooves crashing down in he same spot. This time however, she backed off quickly. Onix was back up again, but instead of attacking Ponyta, crashed through the glass and into the ground. Blaine wasn't feeling too hot right about then.  
  
There's got to be something I can do, he thought furiously. He gazed at the ceiling in thought and his answer came to him. "Ponyta, fire your flames at the ceiling, then run around the Gym as fast as you can!" She did as she was ordered, then ran off at full speed. The flames reached the ceiling and water started pouring down.  
  
"What is this?" Brock shouted through the falling water. Then he noticed a stream of water falling into Onix's hole. "No!" he shouted, as Onix burst through the ground and into the artificial rain.  
  
"Roooooarrrrrrr!" it yelled as the water hit its skin. Ponyta then dashed towards him.  
  
Blaine nodded. "Now Ponyta! Stomp the head!" She ran forward at blistering speed, trying to avoid the droplets of water and lunged at Onix's head. For the third time, her hooves hit home. This time Onix wasn't so lucky. It fell over as the water stopped.  
  
Brock's mouth was not unlike a fish's. "Who, what, where, when, why, HOW?! It can't be! You can't beat rock-types with fire Pokemon"  
  
Blaine stopped cheering and said calmly, "It can and was. Type isn't the only thing that matters in a battle. Level and the Pokemon itself are important too." He looked down at Growlithe then back at Ponyta, who was standing next to him. "Trust and love for your Pokemon are also just as, if not more, important."  
  
Brock crossed his arms and said, "Using the sprinkler system is illegal. You don't get a badge."  
  
Blaine whipped out a small book from his vest and turned it to a certain page. "Page 93, Article 27, paragraph 2 from the Official Pokemon Rulebook states that any surroundings may be used to the trainer's tactical advantage in a Pokemon battle." He closed the book and said, "Fork over the badge."  
  
Brock sighed. "Yeah, I know. I just don't like losing. Here you go." He walked over to Blaine and handed him a small octagon-shaped badge. He then cleared his throat. "I'd better do this right. I Brock, Gym Leader of the Pewter City Gym, present you with a Boulderbadge."  
  
Blaine smiled and nodded. "Thanks Brock. I promise to make you and this Gym proud in all of my matches." He glanced over at Growlithe, who was asleep, and then at Ponyta, who was lying down. "Uh, I think I should go heal my Pokemon." He then recalled Ponyta, picked up Growlithe and ran out the door.  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
As Blaine ran out of sight, Ash turned to Brock. "I guess I'll have to wait until you heal your Pokemon, right?"  
  
Brock shook his head. "No. I have one Pokemon left. I'll have a rematch with you if you don't mind a 1 on 1."  
  
Ash pulled out a Poke Ball. "Not at all." He threw it onto the field as Brock threw his. "Go Diglett!"  
  
"You're up, Graveler!"  
  
A stone rock with arms and legs landed on the still-changed field. "Graveler. The rock Pokemon and evolved form of Geodude," Dexter said. "With a free and uncaring nature, it doesn't mind if pieces break off while it rolls down mountains."  
  
The announcer came up and said, "This will be a 1 on 1 battle with no time limit for the Boulderbadge. The challenger, Ash, has chosen a Diglett. The Leader, Brock, has chosen a Graveler. Let the battle begin!"  
  
Brock smiled when he saw his opponent's Pokemon. "So, you decided to catch a different Pokemon, huh? Well, I know how to handle these things. Graveler, Tackle attack!"  
  
The large rock started rolling towards Diglett, but it just popped underground and then popped back up. "All right, turn around and give it your Earthquake!" Brock ordered. His Pokemon obeyed and faced Diglett. It then jumped into the air and crashed back down, sending shockwaves in every direction.  
  
As Ash's Diglett was getting bounced around, Blaine walked back into the gym. He looked around and sighed. "I leave him alone for one minute, and he gets into a battle."  
  
Meanwhile, Diglett was taking a beating. Graveler was rolling around, trying to squash the mole. If he missed, he would jump up and deliver another Earthquake. Ash couldn't think of anyway to save his new friend. "Diglett, go underground quickly!"  
  
In the blink of an eye, Diglett was gone, but that didn't stop Graveler's Earthquake. Diglett was bounced up to the surface and Graveler was rolling towards him immediately.  
  
"Try your Scratch attack on it!" A few rocks were dragged across Graveler's rocky hide, but it didn't stop him. He pounded into Diglett, sending the small Pokemon flying. It landed on the ground behind a rock. Ash ran to find it, but it wasn't there. "Where did he go?" Ash pondered.  
  
A small bump was heard from under Graveler. The rock jumped up and saw that the missing mole was missing no more. He readied himself for another Earthquake in midair, but Diglett wasn't there. He continued the attack anyway, and Diglett popped up on the other side of the Gym.  
  
"Perfect. Give it your Rock Throw!" Brock said. But Graveler continued rolling towards Diglett. Diglett popped underground at the last second, causing Graveler to crash right into the rock that was behind it. "No, Graveler, stop!" Brock commanded, but it still wouldn't listen and crashed into another rock as Diglett dodged a second time. Brock gripped his head in frustration. "Arrrghhhhh! Graveler, no!" For the third time Graveler crashed into a rock.  
  
From behind Ash, Blaine commented, "I think your Graveler could use some more training, Brock." But the Pewter City Gym Leader wasn't listening. He was busy watching his Pokemon crash into rocks that were nowhere near Diglett. Blaine shook his head. "Give it up. Look at Graveler. It's confused and in no condition to battle."  
  
Brock finally sighed and said, "You're right. Graveler, return." But Graveler dodged the red beam and continued rolling around. All of a sudden, he froze while looking at something. Everyone followed his gaze and saw four figures standing in the doorway.  
  
One was a woman with long red hair. One was a man with bright blue hair. One was a Meowth standing on its hind paws. And the last was an Ekans wrapped around the woman's legs. "Nice Glare, Ekans," The woman said.  
  
Blaine muttered, "Look's like trouble."  
  
The woman asked, "Did someone say trouble?  
  
The man said, "Because you should make that double."  
  
"To protect the world from devastation."  
  
"To unite all people within our nation."  
  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."  
  
"To extend our reach to the stars above."  
  
"Jessie!"  
  
"James!"  
  
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light."  
  
"Surrender now or prepare to fight."  
  
The Meowth jumped forward and finished it with, "Meowth, dat's right!"  
  
The other three humans in the room all said, "A talking Meowth!?"  
  
Meowth pointed a claw at them. "Yep, and now we'll be takin' dose Pokemon.  
  
"Over my dead body!" Ash shot back. He turned to his starter Pokemon. "Okay, Pikachu, let's take care of them."  
  
Blaine reached for Ponyta's Poke Ball. "You too, Pony- Huh?" He found himself grabbing at air. He looked at Ash and grinned sheepishly. "Oh yeah, I forgot. My Pokemon are still at the Pokemon Center." Everyone facefaulted, including Team Rocket.  
  
Ash nodded. "Pikachu, Thundershock!" Pikachu briefly charged up his electric attack before zapping Team Rocket. Then, everyone heard a rolling sound. They looked back and saw that Graveler was freed from his paralysis. He rolled past Brock, Blaine, Ash, and Pikachu and right into Team Rocket. The resulting crash sent them flying.  
  
"That's no ordinary Pikachu." James noted.  
  
"You can say dat again." Meowth said  
  
"Someday we'll catch it, but for now," Jessie said as everyone else joined in, "it looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"  
  
"Ekans!"  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
Back in the Gym, which now had a hole in its roof, Brock was talking to Ash. "That's a smart Diglett you have there. It knows when to wait for its trainer, and when to act on its own." Brock hesitated briefly. "And now, I, Brock, the Leader of the Pewter City Gym, present you with this Boulderbadge." He handed over a badge identical to the one he gave Blaine earlier.  
  
Starry-eyed, Ash said, "Wow. Thanks Brock." He turned to Blaine and Pikachu and held the badge out in front of him. "I got a Boulderbadge!" Everyone else sighed.  
  
As they started to leave, Brock said, "Hold on guys. You're going through Mt. Moon, right?" When they both nodded, he continued. "Then you might need these." He held out a small bag. "In here are some healing items. Mt. Moon is a large place, and there are a lot of trainers in there. With no Pokemon Center to heal them, your Pokemon will rely on items." He nodded and finished with, "Good luck."  
  
Blaine nodded back and replied, "Thanks Brock."  
  
~~~~~  
  
AN: Okay, note to self, don't get Blaine mad. Anyway, look for Chapter 4 soon, it should be up, um, soon. Until then, see ya! 


	4. Moon Mountain Mayhem

AN: Please ignore my idiotic brother, who happens to be my co-author, if he ever goes into the review board again (he's bluefang, in case you don't know). Anyway, sorry about my updating time. Schoolwork got the best of me. I won't take that long normally. Anyway, enough rambling and on with the chapter.  
  
Of Flame and Ash  
  
Chapter 4: Moon Mountain Mayhem  
  
After healing their Pokemon at the Pokemon Center, Ash, Blaine, and their Pokemon headed west for Mt. Moon.  
  
"Are we there yet?" Ash moaned for the third time in the past five minutes.  
  
"No!" Blaine yelled. "And we won't be there for at least another twenty minutes, so stop whining!"  
  
A few minutes later, Ash asked, "How much longer until we're there?"  
  
Blaine snapped. "Will you stop asking when we'll get there?! We will get there when we get there!"  
  
"But I was asking how much longer until we get there, not when we'll get there," Ash pointed out meekly.  
  
Blaine screamed, "THAT'S IT!" He then pulled a large hammer out of nowhere and yelled, "PANCAKES!" He smashed Ash with it, sending him flying. The boy landed in front of the Pokemon Center at Mt. Moon's entrance as he heard a voice yell to him, "There! Are you happy? You're there!"  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
Twenty minutes later, Blaine, Growlithe, and Pikachu showed up at the entrance. Ash was waiting for them outside. "Jeez, you guys are slow," he commented. Blaine pulled out the hammer threateningly, and Ash said, "Never mind."  
  
Blaine put the hammer away and said, "Since there's a Pokemon Center right here, I want to do something."  
  
Ash cocked his head. "What?"  
  
Blaine grinned evilly. "Ash, I challenge you to a Pokemon battle!"  
  
Ash's eyes widened. "Why do you want to battle me?"  
  
"I've wanted to battle you since we met, but stuff kept happening to prevent it. Jigglypuff, and you losing at the Gym for example. Now," he pointed at Ash, "do you accept or decline?"  
  
Ash pulled out a Poke Ball. "I accept," he said. "Go, Diglett!"  
  
Blaine pulled out his only used Poke Ball. "Ponyta, I choose you! Ember attack!" As the small horse came out, she whipped her fiery mane forward, throwing small flames at Diglett.  
  
"Diglett, go underground!" Ash commanded.  
  
As Diglett burrowed, Blaine smirked. "Ash, don't you remember what I told Team Rocket about digging?"  
  
Ash sweatdropped and said, "Oops."  
  
"Yeah. Oops is right." Blaine pointed at the hole left by Diglett. "Ponyta, fire in the hole!"  
  
A second later, Diglett came shooting up out of the ground, slightly charred and breathing heavily. "Diglett, are you okay?" Ash called out. After an affirmative nod, Ash continued. "Good. Show that Ponyta your Scratch!"  
  
Diglett rushed at Ponyta, but she simply jumped over him. "Good job Ponyta. Counter it with your famous Stomp attack!" She jumped into the air again, this time landing on Diglett. Or where Diglett had been. Ponyta's front hooves landed in a hole instead.  
  
Ash jumped into the air. "Perfect! Diglett, hit it with Scratch!" Diglett popped out of the ground behind Ponyta and again rushed at her, this time from behind. Right before Diglett hit, Ponyta reared up and kicked him viciously in the head. Diglett went flying backwards and landed with X's in his eyes.  
  
"Ha! First victory goes to me and Ponyta!" Blaine gloated. "Send out Pikachu so we can finish this."  
  
"Fine," Ash growled. "Pikachu, you're up."  
  
Blaine nodded. "Ponyta, return. Go, Growlithe!" He pulled Ponyta into her Poke Ball and Growlithe stepped forward.  
  
"Pikachu, go, Thundershock attack!" A bolt of lightning shot forward and hit Growlithe.  
  
"Growlithe, strike back with a Bite!" Growlithe, complete with standing up fur, leapt forward and bit down hard on his opponent's tail. Pikachu involuntarily let out a burst of electricity, shocking the dog a second time. Growlithe yelped and let go, but only to get a third shock.  
  
Ash was getting happier, while Blaine wasn't. "Give him your Tackle!" Growlithe charged at Pikachu, bending his head down on the way. Pikachu tried to shock him, but kept missing.  
  
"What's that?" Ash asked, watching Growlithe pick up speed while jumping side to side.  
  
Blaine was awed. "I think that's Growlithe's Agility attack." Growlithe was a blur as he sped towards Pikachu. The yellow mouse was hit full force and sent flying from the momentum of the Agility. Pikachu landed on his feet, but was then hit by flames from Growlithe. It was too much for the small Pokemon and he collapsed from exhaustion.  
  
"Pikachu!" Ash ran over to his friend. "Pikachu, are you okay?" Pikachu squeaked once, then went to sleep. Ash glared at Blaine. "How could you do this to Pikachu?"  
  
Blaine held his hands out in front of him. "Woah, Ash, calm down! Pikachu's only sleeping. He'll be fine soon. Besides, it was a battle, and Pikachu was the opponent." He looked down at his feet. "Sorry if I went a bit overboard."  
  
"It's okay. I probably would have done the same thing." Ash said.  
  
Blaine grinned. "Yeah, if you were winning."  
  
Ash sweatdropped. "Yeah, sure." He looked over at the cave. "Are we going in now?"  
  
Blaine shook his head and said, "Not yet. You still have to heal your Pokemon."  
  
"What about yours?"  
  
"Mine are fine. They were the ones that won."  
  
"Oh yeah? Take another look."  
  
Blaine looked over at Growlithe and saw him lying down, breathing heavily. He looked back at Ash, scratching the back of his head. "Okay, maybe mine need healing too."  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
The cave was dark.  
  
"I wonder if he could get any more obvious," pondered Ash.  
  
Blaine took out his lantern, lighting the area around them. "Stop pestering the author and let's go." They descended deeper into the cave.  
  
They heard Zubat cries constantly, and every once and a while, they would hear a scratching sound. They couldn't see very much as they proceeded, until they could only see a few feet around them. Water could be heard dripping in places, and sometimes those places were found, which Blaine and Growlithe avoided. Every once and a while, there would be a dead end, so everyone would have to follow the wall to find the way back.  
  
After a couple of hours of wandering the cave, Ash moaned, "When will we get out of here?"  
  
Blaine pulled out his hammer and asked, "Do I need to reintroduce you to Mr. Mallet?" Growlithe and Pikachu snickered while Ash shook his head.  
  
Suddenly, Growlithe tugged on Blaine's pantleg. He looked down at the puppy. "What is it Growlithe?" Growlithe pointed his nose off into the darkness.  
  
After a moment, Ash said, "Let's just go."  
  
Blaine turned to him and motioned for him to be quiet. After another moment, a couple of voices were heard talking. Blaine ran to the wall and everyone else followed as he tucked their light into his vest, bathing them in darkness.  
  
The voices got closer, until they could be heard clearly. "-want out of this."  
  
"Yeah, this job is boring. Plus I can't see anything."  
  
"At least we'll get paid big for this. If everything goes right, of course."  
  
The two people owning the voices turned a corner. Both had flashlights in their hands, and were wearing outfits like James's, but were black instead of white. The taller one continued the conversation. "What could go wrong? I mean, it's not like the fossils we're stealing can fight back, and no one is going to stop us, so we're safe."  
  
"Yeah, I guess you're right."  
  
They continued down the wide path in silence. Ash whispered, "I thought taking fossils is illegal."  
  
Blaine nodded, but Ash didn't see him. "It is. That must be what Team Rocket is up to."  
  
"Team Rocket?" Ash asked.  
  
Blaine nodded again, still unseen. "Yes. Didn't you see the red R on their shirts?"  
  
Ash shrugged, but they were still in the dark. "I guess Jessie and James aren't the only members of Team Rocket." He glanced at the shrinking figures. "Maybe we should follow them," he whispered.  
  
Blaine pulled out his lantern, but kept the flame small. "Good idea. Let's go. Come on Growlithe." They walked close together, silently, following the people at a safe distance. The path started to tilt downward after a minute, and the four of them hesitated before continuing.  
  
After a few more minutes, they emerged into a large cavern. Lights were strung up along the walls, and more Team Rocket members were digging in various places. Some Pokemon were helping also. Machop were moving boulders over half their size, and Grimer were dissolving solid rock walls with their poison.  
  
Blaine and Ash were gaping. Growlithe was growling and sparks were coming from Pikachu's cheeks. A huge pile of what looked like rocks was stacked in the middle of the chamber.  
  
"Why are they keeping all of those rocks?" Blaine said quietly.  
  
From behind him someone said, "Because those aren't rocks. They're Pokemon fossils that are going to make us rich."  
  
Blaine gasped and turned around, as did Ash and the Pokemon. A man in his middle 40's was standing there. Unlike the two Rockets standing behind him, he was not wearing a uniform, but a brown suit instead. From the condition of the suit and the aura of dignity that surrounded him, it didn't take long to figure out who he was.  
  
"You're the leader of this operation, aren't you?" Blaine asked. "But you seem to important to come here..."  
  
A Persian walked up next to him and meowed. "Partially correct, my boy. I am Giovanni, leader of Team Rocket." He waved his hands around him, and Ash noticed that everyone had stopped to watch this. "And why do you think I would want to miss this? An opportunity to gain rare and powerful Pokemon is too good to just hear reports about. I wanted to be here for it," he leaned closer, "and maybe get some Pokemon for myself."  
  
Ash was furious as he said angrily, "These fossils aren't meant to be disturbed!"  
  
Blaine nodded in agreement. "By coming in here, you disrupted everything in the cave." He snorted. "Besides, those fossils over there don't even look like Pokemon."  
  
Giovanni smiled. "You can find out how much they are Pokemon, if you join us."  
  
"Never!" Blaine and Ash shouted in unison.  
  
Giovanni snapped his fingers and the two Rockets behind him came forward. "Convince our new friends here to join us. If they don't, eliminate them."  
  
Ash looked over at Blaine. "How are we going to do this?"  
  
"Easy," Blaine said and pulled out a Poke Ball. "We bend the rules."  
  
Two Poke Balls shot out and four Pokemon stepped in front of Blaine and Ash. The Rockets looked at each other and nodded. Their balls flew forward too, and nine Pokemon stood in between the humans. Growlithe, Ponyta, Pikachu, Diglett, Rattata, Grimer, Sandshrew, Machop, and Geodude charged at each other.  
  
Blaine's Pokemon leapt forward, giving everyone some space with their fire attacks. Diglett went underground as the battle started and made his way behind the Rockets' Pokemon. Sandshrew spotted him and turned to face the mole, leaving the other four to face Growlithe, Pikachu, and Ponyta.  
  
Ash moved to pull out his Pokedex to get some info on the attackers, but Blaine stopped him. "There's no time," he said. "We'll just have to go on instinct." Ash nodded so Blaine continued. "We'll have to watch each other's backs. This is going to take more strategy than brute force."  
  
Rattata jumped at Ponyta, attempting a powerful Hyper Fang attack, but Ponyta reared up and kicked it away. Blaine sweatdropped and said, "Okay, maybe brute force will help too."  
  
Unfortunately, neither Ash nor Blaine could come up with any good strategies, so the Pokemon took matters into their own hands, paws, hooves, and rocks.  
  
Ponyta whipped her head around, sending flames around her, trapping Rattata, Machop, and herself in a circle of fire. She then blew flames everywhere in the circle, setting the ground on fire. Rattata couldn't take the heat and collapsed, also receiving a Quick Attack from the female pony. Machop wasn't so quick to lose, however, and delivered a flurry of punches to its opponent. Ponyta slowly backed up and out of the fiery circle. Machop didn't notice the fire until it stepped on it. While hopping in the air, holding its foot, and crying in pain, Ponyta sent it flying with another Quick Attack.  
  
Meanwhile, Diglett and Sandshrew were having an underground duel. They swerved around each other, shooting Sand-Attacks at each other. One would fire, then the other one would either dodge or shoot their own sand. They then proceeded to attempt to scratch each other. The match ended up in a draw, as both of them emerged from the ground all scratched up. Their respective owners called them back immediately.  
  
Growlithe and Pikachu were still squaring off with Grimer and Geodude. After many fruitless attempts to knock out Geodude, the duo focused their attacks on Grimer. After an Ember/Thundershock combo, Grimer melted into a puddle of goo. Then, two rocks hit both Pikachu and Growlithe on their heads. They turned to the attacker and saw Geodude holding another rock. It hurled the rock at the fire puppy, who in turn got hit on the head. Pikachu retaliated with a powerful Thundershock, paralyzing the floating boulder. It gave Growlithe the time to get up. His eyes turned red, as did Blaine's, and he released the second Flamethrower of his life.  
  
The Rockets recalled their Pokemon as the battle ended, and Giovanni stepped forward. "Good work boys. I am impressed that you were able to defeat two of my strongest Rockets." He smiled evilly. "Now, lets see how you fare against me." A Poke Ball flew out of his sleeve and into his hand. "Weezing, go!"  
  
What looked like two Koffings fused together floated towards Ash and Blaine. Growlithe and Pikachu leapt forward without command. Ponyta tried, but fell to her knees. "It's okay, Ponyta," Blaine said as he put her back into her Poke Ball. "You did a good job."  
  
Meanwhile, Ash was starting on Weezing. "Pikachu, go! Thundershock attack!" Pikachu released a burst of energy, striking Weezing dead-on. Weezing took the shock and shook it off.  
  
"Weezing, Sludge." Giovanni commanded with a hint of amusement in his voice. His Pokemon spat a brown liquid at the mouse, but a blast of fire dissolved it.  
  
"Can't let you take all the credit, Ash," Blaine said as he walked up next to him, Growlithe beside Blaine. "Let's take this loser down, our style. Growlithe, Bite that freak!"  
  
"Pikachu, electric Tail Whip!"  
  
Growlithe jumped onto Weezing and bit down on the small head. Pikachu charged his remaining energy into his tail and smashed it into the large head of Weezing, shocking both it and Growlithe. Both Pokemon jumped away from the toxic gas ball and faced it, ready for more. Giovanni had other plans, though.  
  
"Weezing, use Explosion." The Pokemon glowed bright white and then exploded, leaving behind a large cloud of smoke. When it cleared, all three Pokemon were unconscious.  
  
"Pikachu!"  
  
"Growlithe!"  
  
Ash and Blaine ran over to their respective Pokemon and picked them up. Giovanni slowly walked towards them. "This is your last chance to join Team Rocket. You have no Pokemon left to defend you. Either join us," he paused slightly, "or die."  
  
Blaine clenched his teeth. "Never."  
  
Suddenly, the pile of fossils began to glow. They merged together and changed form until they became a large stone bat. "Aero!" it shrieked loudly.  
  
Ash pulled out his Pokedex. "Aerodactyl. The fossil Pokemon. A vicious Pokemon from the distant past, it appears to have flown by spreading its wings and gliding."  
  
Aerodactyl flew at them, swiping at their heads with its wings. Giovanni pulled out a Poke Ball and said, "Perfect! Now I shall capture it!" He threw the ball at its unprotected back after it flew over again, but an arm reached up and knocked the ball away. "What?!" Giovanni cried furiously.  
  
Blaine stood between him and the Pokemon defiantly. "This Pokemon is staying in this cave. Nothing you say or do will prevent that." He turned to the large bat behind him. "Aerodactyl, if you want to remain hidden, leave this room right now."  
  
Ash looked around the room for a way to help, and he quickly found one. "Blaine! The generator! If we start it, we can blow it up!" He looked at Pikachu. "I know you're tired, but can you just start that generator for us, Pikachu?"  
  
Pikachu responded with a weak, "Pika," and a bolt of electricity arched towards the generator. It hit and the generator powered up.  
  
Blaine watched the retreating form of Aerodactyl and then turned to Growlithe. "Can you destroy that generator, Growlithe?" The puppy looked at the machine and opened his mouth, but all that came out was a puff of smoke.  
  
Giovanni tried to sustain a laugh. "It looks like your plan won't work after all. Goodb-" He stopped as he saw Blaine pull out a small lantern.  
  
Blaine smiled weakly and said, "Guess again." He threw the lantern with all of his might at the generator. It smashed against it, the flame leaping out onto the steel. Within seconds, the generator exploded, sending everyone in the cavern flying through a new hole in the roof. Blaine, Ash, and their Pokemon briefly saw the explosion before blacking out as they went soaring out of the cave and into the night sky.  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
Blaine woke up to find himself in a field full of flowers on a sunny day. Growlithe and Pikachu were snoring peacefully next to him, and Ash was just waking up also. Blaine looked on his other side and saw his lantern on the ground, undamaged. He picked it up and looked at Ash, who shrugged. "Don't question good things," he said.  
  
"There's something different about it," Blaine said thoughtfully as he watched the dancing flame, "but I can't figure out what-" He lost his train of thought as he gazed into the sky and saw a large, multi-colored bird flying off towards the west. The bird glittered with all the colors of the rainbow, yet still shone a golden color.  
  
Ash didn't see it, though, as he was watching his own mystical creature. A large winged beast was flying off towards the south, this one with a slim white body and long slender wings and tail. The few clouds seemed to part to make way for the flying thing.  
  
When they could be seen no more, both boys turned to each other and said, "Did you see that bird/dragon? No, I saw a dragon/bird!"  
  
They were silent for a minute before Blaine spoke up. "I don't think we should tell anyone what we just saw."  
  
"Why not?" Ash asked.  
  
Blaine looked back up at the sky. "I think those were legendary Pokemon. If we say we saw them, people would think we are crazy." He looked back down at the ground and off to the east. "Now, I believe we have a certain city to get to. Cerulean City, if I'm not mistaken. So let's get going!"  
  
~~~~~  
  
AN: You must be getting sick of these. Anyway, I forgot the disclaimer. I don't own Pokemon or any part of it. If I did, all 386 Pokemon would have appeared in Ruby/Sapphire. Again, sorry for the updating time. I will normally be faster than that. 


	5. Beach Blast

Of Flame and Ash  
  
Chapter 5: Beach Blast  
  
After stopping Team Rocket's fossil excavation at Mt. Moon, Ash and Blaine, along with their Pokemon, entered Cerulean City. They marveled at the beautiful gardens and buildings, but almost immediately a shrill whistle rang through the peaceful air.  
  
"Hold it right there!" A female police officer was running towards them, a Growlithe with her. They ran up to the duo and said, "I'm going to need to ask you two a couple of questions."  
  
Blaine smiled and said, "Hi Officer Jenny! How'd you get here?"  
  
Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Have we met before? Your face doesn't seem familiar."  
  
"Of course we've met before!" he said exasperatedly. "I'm Blaine, from Pewter City!"  
  
"Oh, Blaine!" Jenny said knowingly. "My cousin in Pewter has told me so much about you!" She narrowed her eyes. "She also told me to keep an eye on you if you ever came through here."  
  
Blaine sweatdropped and said, "Uh, right. We'll be going now." He and Ash started walking away.  
  
A blast of fire passed in front of them, courtesy of Jenny's Growlithe. "I still need to ask you some questions."  
  
"Okay," Ash said, having a good idea what those questions were about.  
  
"First of all, did you hear about the explosion at Mt. Moon?"  
  
"Well, you could say that," Blaine said slowly.  
  
Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And do you know what caused the explosion?"  
  
"Um, I suppose," Ash said quietly.  
  
Jenny threw her hands up in the air. "Well, what was it?!"  
  
Blaine and Ash looked at each other before muttering, "Us."  
  
Other cops immediately surrounded the two. "We'll take that as a confession," one said.  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
The next morning, after everything was straightened out, Ash and Blaine left the police station.  
  
Blaine sighed. "Well, at least that's over."  
  
Ash stretched out his arms. "Yeah. Besides, police station beds aren't that comfortable." He glanced at their Pokemon. "I don't think our Pokemon are ready to take on the Gym Leader." Blaine nodded in agreement. "Speaking of him, do you know who he is?"  
  
Blaine shook his head. "The only thing I know is that the Leader is a woman. Other than that, I'm as clueless as you are normally." He chuckled at Ash's scowl. Ash then pulled out a large mallet identical to Blaine's. The other boy said, puzzled, "Wait a minute..." He reached into his vest and pulled out nothing. He looked at Ash. "That's my mallet!"  
  
A few minutes and several smacks later, Ash and Blaine decided to head to the cape to relax. Ash's reasoning was that it would give their Pokemon a chance to relax. Blaine didn't see a reason to argue with that.  
  
"Can I have my hammer back now?" Blaine pleaded.  
  
Ash shook his head. "Not until I find a bigger one."  
  
Blaine sighed and took out his torch. "Then I'm not sorry about this." He opened a small hatch on the side and pressed a button. The dancing flame flared and shot out of the torch at Ash. It wrapped around Ash, turning him into a black crisp.  
  
"Here you go," he said as he threw the hammer at Blaine's feet. He shook the soot that always appears when someone gets burned off himself and asked, "How did you do that?"  
  
Blaine shrugged as he put his mallet away. "I don't know. I found it last night at the station." He glanced at Ash. "Do you like it?"  
  
"Pikachu, remind me to get some Burn Heal the next time we get supplies," he said, shuddering. Blaine and Growlithe snickered from in front of him. Ash looked over Blaine's shoulder and said, "Hey, there's the water."  
  
Blaine's reaction was instantaneous. He let out a small yelp and bolted behind Ash. "Please, don't let it hurt me."  
  
Ash and Pikachu facefaulted.  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
"Those children ruined my plans. They must not go unpunished."  
  
"Yes sir. We won't fail you."  
  
"And I don't want to see your faces here until you're finished, understand?"  
  
"Sure 'ting, boss."  
  
"Ugh. And do something about that revolting Meowth. It disgusts me."  
  
"Gladly, sir."  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
After being convinced that the water wasn't going to hurt him, Blaine settled down on the sand. Him and Ash watched as Growlithe ran off to play with the other Pokemon.  
  
Ponyta was chasing Pikachu around, and then decided to chase Growlithe too. Diglett was randomly digging holes underneath the Pokemons' feet, causing them to fall into a hole. They would emerge a few seconds later, laughing. At one point, Growlithe ran a bit too close to the water, so he whimpered slightly and backed away slowly.  
  
Ash saw this and laughed. "I can't believe you're so afraid of the water. There's nothing to be afraid of."  
  
"I'm training to become a master of flame. It's natural that I wouldn't like water." He looked at Ash. "I'm sure you're afraid of something too."  
  
"Wha-what?" the black-haired boy stuttered. "I'm not afraid of anything." Quickly changing the subject, he asked, "What are you going to do about your future gym on Cinnabar? It is an island, so it's surrounded by water."  
  
Blaine sighed. "Well, hopefully I'll have gotten over my fear of water by then."  
  
They went back to watching the Pokemon play until Ash asked another question. "What are you going to do after you become the Gym Leader?"  
  
Blaine thought about it for a minute. "Well, I suppose that I'll go to other lands and collect the badges there, too."  
  
"Well, you could take the Elite Four Challenge with me."  
  
"Heh, that would be funny. A Gym Leader who put the Elite Four to shame."  
  
"I'm serious. Trainers who train one type of Pokemon are usually more powerful than ones that train different types."  
  
Blaine considered it a minute. "Ash, do you know who the First Elite is?" Ash shook his head. "Then I'll tell you. Her name is Lorelei, and she trains ice-types."  
  
"So? Fire is strong against ice, right?"  
  
"Yes, but most ice-types are also water-types. And a master of water-types is too much for me."  
  
Ash frowned. "Isn't there a Gym Leader that trains water-types?"  
  
"I've never heard of one."  
  
Ash shrugged. "I could have sworn that- Hey, what's that?" He pointed out into the water and Blaine saw a small orange lizard on a floating piece of wood.  
  
Blaine's eyes widened. "That's a Charmander! How did it get out there?" Without another word, he ran to the water and jumped in without hesitation. The water was freezing, biting at his body as he swam, but he didn't feel any of it. The only thing on his mind was getting to that Charmander.  
  
He reached the wood and looked at the Charmander on it. Its eyes were closed. He screamed loudly and kicked all the way back to shore with the driftwood in his hands. He made it back faster than he went out. He dragged the Pokemon up onto the beach and started inspecting it. After a few seconds he said, "It's too late."  
  
Ash came over and looked at the lizard. "Uh, Blaine?"  
  
"I was too late, I should have gotten there quicker."  
  
"Blaine?"  
  
"This is all my fault."  
  
"BLAINE!"  
  
The blond boy looked up at his friend. "What is it?"  
  
"That Charmander isn't dead. It's sleeping."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Upon hearing its name, the Pokemon opened its eyes and looked at the humans near it. "Char?" is said with a yawn.  
  
"Hi Charmander!" Ash said with a cheery voice. "You don't need to worry. We won't hurt you. Blaine even swam out into the ocean to get you," he said, pointing to the soaked trainer.  
  
Blaine blinked. "I what?" He looked down at himself and found his clothes were drenched. "AAAAAHHHHHH!!! I'M WET!" He started running in a circle until Growlithe let out a blast of fire at Blaine. When he finished, Blaine was standing there burned, but dry. He sighed and said, "Thanks Growlithe."  
  
Ash took out his Pokedex and aimed it at Charmander. "Charmander. The lizard Pokemon. It obviously prefers hot places. When it rains, steam is said to sprout from the tip of its tail."  
  
Everyone looked at Charmander's tail. They were surprised to see that it was on fire. "Well, that would explain the steam," Blaine commented.  
  
Ash pulled out a Poke Ball and said eagerly, "I'm going to catch it!"  
  
Blaine stopped him. "No Ash. You can't catch this Charmander."  
  
Ash pouted. "Why not?"  
  
Blaine whistled and Ponyta came to him. "Because I'm going to catch it!" Everyone facefaulted. Blaine turned around and looked at everyone. "Why do you always do that when I say something?" He shook his head.  
  
Ponyta, who had been rubbing her head on Blaine's side, ducked as a flame shot over her head. She looked at Charmander, who was ready to fire another shot, and neighed. Blaine looked at her and said, "All right Ponyta, let's get a new Pokemon. Stomp attack!"  
  
Ponyta ran forward and reared up, preparing to smash her hooves onto Charmander, but the lizard had other plans. He blasted a Flamethrower at point-blank range into Ponyta's underbelly. The horse backed off quicker than she had gone forward.  
  
"Hmmm, that's a strong Charmander if it knows Flamethrower," Blaine mused silently. He then nodded. "Ponyta, return." His Pokemon turned around and walked back towards him without hesitation. "I'll have to fight fire with fire. Growlithe, go!" The dog leapt forward and tried to bite Charmander without order. Charmander pulled back his hands and whipped them back out, scratching Growlithe across his nose.  
  
Blaine growled as he saw his first Pokemon bleed. "Okay Growlithe. It's time to try your special move." He flung his hand at Charmander. "Flamethrower attack now!" Growlithe let loose a large blast of fire without even charging up. Charmander didn't feel like getting hit, so he threw out a Flamethrower of his own. Their attacks met in midair and pushed against each other. The two Pokemon circled each other, each trying to get the upper edge. Charmander stepped in a puddle of water and slipped, losing his aim.  
  
The flame attack blasted right past Blaine's head, but the young trainer didn't flinch. He merely said, "Toast him." Growlithe re-aimed his flame, this time hitting Charmander in the head. Charmander fell over, his eyes spinning. Blaine looked at him and said, "Oops. I guess I went overboard. I think I have some Burn Heal in here," he mumbled as he rummaged through his backpack. He pulled it out and walked over to the burned lizard. After spraying some on him, he said, "This looks like it could turn into trouble."  
  
"That's our cue James."  
  
Blaine whirled around to find Jessie, James, and Meowth standing on the beach behind Ash.  
  
"To protect the beach from devastation."  
  
"To collect all seashells in every nation."  
  
"To explore the wonders of sand and water."  
  
"To extend our reach to Davy Jones' Locker."  
  
"Jessie!"  
  
"James!"  
  
"Team Rocket, capturing you with our net."  
  
"Be careful, or else you'll get wet."  
  
"Meowth, all set!"  
  
Jessie threw a net at everyone, but Blaine's Pokemon easily burned it up. "What was the point of that?" Blaine asked.  
  
Jessie shrugged. "It was the only thing we could think of for our motto."  
  
Pikachu let out a shock, but Jessie held out a stick with a large rubber ball stuck on the end. All the electricity was absorbed into the rubber, leaving Team Rocket unharmed.  
  
"We're not stupid enough to forget about your Pikachu, kid."  
  
Blaine smiled. "Oh? But you forgot about me, didn't you?"  
  
James smiled back. "We remembered you too." He pulled a large squirt gun out from behind his back. He then saw what was behind Blaine. "Oooo, look Jessie, a Charmander!"  
  
"That Charmander would fetch an excellent price." Jessie said.  
  
"And he's already save us da' trouble of weakenin' it." Meowth added.  
  
Blaine growled, "You're not getting this Charmander. A Pokemon isn't for selling."  
  
Ash nodded. "That's right. If you catch a Pokemon, you should treat it with respect, not like it's an item."  
  
Jessie raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And I suppose you are going to stop us?"  
  
"You bet we are!" Blaine yelled. "Ponyta, go!"  
  
"Diglett, I choose you!"  
  
"Go, Ekans! Bite attack!"  
  
"Koffing, go! Use Smokescreen!"  
  
Koffing let out a gas cloud as Ekans jumped through it and latched onto Diglett. Ash panicked. "Ahhh! Diglett, go underground!"  
  
Blaine shouted, "No Ash, not underground." But it was too late. He turned back to James and said, "Ponyta, Ember!" Before anyone could even blink, small flames hurtled at the poison gas ball.  
  
James reacted quickly. "Koffing, Sludge those flames!" Koffing shot a small sludge ball at each flame, coating them and making them dissolve. The sludge kept going and hit Ponyta in the face.  
  
"Ponyta!" Blaine ran over to his Pokemon. "Are you okay? Don't worry, you did great." He pulled her back into her Poke Ball and turned to his other Pokemon. "It's up to you Growlithe."  
  
Somewhere during that time, Diglett popped back up with Ekans still clinging to him. Ekans was slightly dazed, but Diglett was down for the count. "Diglett, return. Go, Pikachu!"  
  
Pikachu and Growlithe jumped forward, but never got the chance to battle. Jessie took out a strange looking gun and shot it at Pikachu. When the smoke cleared, Pikachu was inside a rubber ball.  
  
Growlithe also had problems. The moment he stepped forward, James sprayed him with the squirt gun. After a few squirts, Growlithe fell down, soaked.  
  
"No!" Blaine and Ash ran to their Pokemon and picked them up, cradling them.  
  
"Game over," Jessie said. She pulled a Poke Ball from her belt and threw it at the unprotected Charmander. Blaine saw it and jumped to intercept it. He succeeded. Sort of. The Poke Ball hit his chest and opened. Blaine disappeared in a flash of red light and the ball closed. It shook briefly before the light went out.  
  
Growlithe let out a howl and ran to the Poke Ball containing his trainer. He nudged it with his nose and it opened. There was another flash of red light and Blaine reappeared. He did not look very pleased.  
  
Eyes narrowed, Blaine said quietly, but menacingly, "You just put me in a Poke Ball, correct?"  
  
The Rocket trio nodded slowly.  
  
Blaine nodded. "That's what I thought." He pulled out his lantern and pressed the button. The flame shot out and toasted the three to a crisp. After he was satisfied with the crispiness, he put the torch away and pulled out his hammer. He ran towards the three people and stopped. "Time for some golf," he said. He pulled back the hammer and smacked Meowth, James, and finally Jessie with it.  
  
As they flew through the air, James said, "Well, we know not to get him angry."  
  
Veins throbbing, Jessie yelled, "A lot of good that does us now!"  
  
"Well, next time we'll be able to do it da' right way." Meowth added. "But for now..."  
  
"It looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
Back on the beach, Blaine was calmed down. "How dare they put me in a Poke Ball! They are going to wish they never crossed paths with me!" Well, more so than what he was.  
  
"Blaine, aren't you forgetting about Charmander?" Ash asked.  
  
Blaine stopped his fit of rage. "Oh yeah." He turned to the orange Pokemon. "I guess we won't get to finish our battle."  
  
Charmander shook his head and tapped one of Blaine's Poke Balls. "Char!" he said happily.  
  
Blaine blinked. "You mean you'll come with me anyway? Thanks!" He pulled out the ball Charmander had tapped and put him in it. He turned to Ash and said, "I caught a Charmander! Now I say we go back to the city and heal our Pokemon. We've got a hard match ahead of us."  
  
~~~~~  
  
AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I wasn't planning on having Gary in this, but if enough people want him, I could stick him in. Okay, that's all I wanted to say. 


	6. Squirts of H2O

Of Flame and Ash  
  
Chapter 6: Squirts of H2O  
  
Ash and Blaine walked out of the Cerulean Pokemon Center, their Pokemon fully healed. "Which way is the Gym?" asked Ash.  
  
"Hmmm," Blaine said thoughtfully. "My instincts tell me it's this way." He pointed past a sign that read, CERULEAN CITY GYM, STRAIGHT AHEAD. They proceeded past the sign and quickly found a large colorful building with a picture of a Dewgong above the door.  
  
They approached the door and stopped. "You first," Ash said, motioning to the door.  
  
Blaine stepped towards the door and pulled it open. It was dark inside, so he stopped to let his eyes adjust. Lights suddenly flashed on, and the sight made Blaine extremely unpleasant. The gym had a large pool with floating platforms. "NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I HATE WATER!"  
  
Ash, not bothering to try and calm him down, said, "I told you there was a Gym Leader that trained water-types."  
  
Blaine wasn't listening. He was huddled in a corner, saying over and over, "I don't like water. I don't like water. I don't like water."  
  
"Is there anything I can help you with?"  
  
Ash turned around and saw a young redheaded girl in a blue bathing suit standing next to the pool. She had obviously been swimming, because she was dripping water on the floor. A Horsea, still in the pool, was watching these humans with fascination. Or, to be more precise, Blaine. So was its trainer.  
  
"Is there something wrong with your friend?" the swimmer asked.  
  
Ash shook his head. "No. At least not physically." He looked back at the girl. "Is the Gym Leader here? My name is Ash, and I was looking for a battle."  
  
"Well, then you've found one," the girl said. " I, Misty, Gym Leader of the Cerulean City Gym, accept your challenge." She dove back into the water and climbed out of it at the other end. "We'll have a 2-on-2 match, okay?"  
  
Ash nodded. "Sure."  
  
"Bad move Ash." Blaine had gotten up and was in control again, save for a slight twitching every now and then. "Pikachu may have a type advantage, but you can't use Diglett on this terrain. It's going to be a 2-on-1."  
  
Misty, not hearing any of this, threw a Poke Ball onto a floating platform. "Misty calls Staryu!" The ball opened and an orange star with a bright red jewel in the center of it.  
  
"Staryu," Dexter said. "The starshape Pokemon. At night, the center of its body slowly flickers with the same rhythm as a human heartbeat."  
  
"Alright Pikachu, you're up." Pikachu lumped onto another floating platform. "Remember, Pikachu, it's all up to you."  
  
Misty launched the first attack. "Staryu, spinning Tackle!" Staryu hopped into the air and started spinning rapidly. It then flew at Pikachu, creating a wind trail in the water as it flew. Right before it hit, Pikachu jumped into the air over the spinning star and turned around in the air.  
  
"Pikachu, Thundershock attack!" Ash shouted. Pikachu fired an electric shock at the star as it came around again. The bolt raced towards Staryu, but it flew upwards and avoided it. Pikachu fired another shot, but Staryu dodged again. "It's too fast!" Ash complained.  
  
"Ash," Blaine said from behind him. "Pikachu knows other moves besides electric ones."  
  
Ash thought about that for a minute, then exclaimed, "I got it! Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Pikachu jumped from platform to platform slowly gaining speed as Staryu flew around trying to knock him into the crystalline water. As Staryu flew straight towards Pikachu, attempting to hit him head-on, Pikachu leapt into the air and slammed down onto Staryu.  
  
"Grab it and hold on!" Pikachu wrapped his small arms around the star as best as he could. "Give it your strongest Thundershock!" There was a flash of light, and Staryu fell from the air and landed in the water. Pikachu hopped off Staryu at the last second and landed safely on a platform.  
  
Staryu sank under the water for a few seconds, and everyone thought he was finished. But Staryu floated back to the surface, barely harmed. Misty grinned. "Good job Staryu," she said. "Now fight back with Water Gun!" Staryu faced its opponent and a jet of water shot out of the top point of the star. Pikachu was hit in the face and knocked into the water.  
  
Staryu immediately vanished underwater and a second later Pikachu was flying through the air. He hit the wall and fell down, but landed on four feet. He took off towards the pool immediately and pounced over the water, clearing half of the large pool. He fell at an arc onto Staryu and bit down hard.  
  
"Now Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash cried. Pikachu charged up, gathering power with a small humming sound. With a loud cry, he transferred all of the saved power to the starshape Pokemon. With a combination of being weak to electric attacks, being wet, and already being weakened, the star was blasted out of the water and collided with the wall opposite of the one Pikachu crashed into.  
  
"Oh, Staryu!" Misty ran over to her fallen Pokemon and picked it up. "You did great, Staryu. Let your brother finish off your opponent." She pulled it back into the Poke Ball and pulled out another one. "You don't stand a chance now. Misty calls Starmie!" The ten-pointed purple star cooed angrily. "And he doesn't like his brother getting hurt."  
  
Dexter gave Ash some info on his new opponent, although it wasn't very useful - to him. "Starmie. The mysterious Pokemon. The center section of its body is called the core. It glows a different color each time it is seen."  
  
"That didn't help much." Ash put his Pokedex away and concentrated on the battle. He didn't realize Blaine was watching him.  
  
He doesn't realize that if he takes out the core, Starmie will fall, Blaine mused silently. I'll need to let him figure that out on his own though.  
  
"Pikachu, Thundershock!"  
  
"Starmie, Bubblebeam!"  
  
The yellow mouse launched into the air to avoid the stream of explosive bubbles, then fired an electric bolt at the purple star. It caused the Pokemon to shake a bit, but it seemed unfazed.  
  
"Follow it up with a Quick Attack!" Ash shouted. Instead of spending time jumping on the platforms, Pikachu dove into the water and swam towards Starmie. He picked up speed and rammed into the back of his opponent with his head. He focused all the electricity in his body into his tail, then delivered an electric Tail Whip to Starmie. The star flew out of the water and landed on a platform.  
  
"Starmie, don't give up! Use Recover!" A wavering light washed over Starmie, and when it disappeared, all Starmie's injuries were gone.  
  
"What?!" Ash cried. "How did it do that?"  
  
Even Blaine was amazed. "With an ability like that, the only way to beat it is to take it out in one hit."  
  
Misty smiled and nodded. "Correct. Few people have ever gotten past my Starmie." Her face turned serious. "Now Starmie, use your Bubblebeam! Fill the whole Gym!"  
  
Starmie started to spin around rapidly while shooting bubbles from each of its ten points. Pikachu did his best to dodge, but he kept getting hit, and it was easy to see he was tiring quickly.  
  
Ash came up with a strategy quickly. "Pikachu! Make an electric shield around yourself!" Pikachu fired a Thundershock attack around himself, creating a crude shield. The plan worked. The bubbles harmlessly exploded upon contact with the barrier.  
  
"Starmie, spinning Tackle!" Misty didn't look so confident anymore. Her Pokemon, however, still was. It crashed through Pikachu's shield and sent the mouse flying. He landed in the water again, but Misty had a plan this time. "Get under it and start spinning Starmie!"  
  
It disappeared just as Staryu had, and just like last time, Pikachu soared through the air. This time, though, Pikachu went straight up and came back down - right onto Starmie's spinning appendages. He went right back up and fell down in the same spot, only to be smashed back up.  
  
Ash was biting his lip, so hard that it started to bleed. "I have to think of something," he muttered.  
  
"Ash!" He turned at the sound of his name. Blaine was cupping his hands and yelling to him. "Use the Pokedex info! There's a clue in it!"  
  
Ash turned back and thought about it. He looked back at his helpless Pokemon and at the attacker. As Starmie spun around, a gleam of light came from the center of it. "Of course!" he exclaimed. "The core! Just like an apple. Without the core, the apple falls apart!" He quickly considered some possibilities and picked the only one that would work.  
  
"Pikachu, use Thunder Wave!" Pikachu shot an electric attack at the spinning star, but rather than glowing with electricity, this one seemed more like static. It hit Starmie, and the Pokemon stopped spinning abruptly.  
  
"Now, kick it away!" Pikachu dropped onto Starmie, kicking out with his foot as he did so. The kick sent Starmie flying to the other edge of the pool.  
  
"You can't hope to win." Misty said smugly. "Starmie, Recover!"  
  
Ash narrowed his eyes. "Not this time. Pikachu, Quick Attack the center!" Pikachu was an underwater blur as he sped towards Starmie. Before Starmie could heal itself, Pikachu rammed into the red jewel. The sudden slam caused the Pokemon to lose its concentration and the jewel started blinking.  
  
"Quick Ash, finish it off!" Blaine shouted.  
  
Ash looked at the playing field carefully. "Wait... Water conducts electricity! Pikachu! Full-power Thunderbolt!"  
  
"Pika!" There was that familiar charging sound, and a brilliant flash of yellow light. As the light faded, everyone quickly saw what had happened.  
  
Starmie was lying on the floor next to Misty, unconscious. Misty was kneeling next to it, stroking its points gently. "You were great Starmie. I'll take you to the Pokemon Center as soon as possible."  
  
She got up and walked over to Ash after putting her Pokemon back in its ball. "Congratulations, Ash. I present you with the Cascadebadge. That was a great battle. I look forward to battling you again."  
  
"Thanks Misty," Ash said with a smile. "Now I've got to get to the Pokemon Center."  
  
Ash stepped back and Blaine stepped forward. "Now I would like to challenge you to a battle."  
  
"But that's not fair!" Misty pouted. "You already know my strategy!"  
  
Blaine sighed. "I don't think that will help me any."  
  
Misty considered it for a moment. "Well, alright. Would you like a 1-on-1 or a 2-on-2?"  
  
Blaine stroked his chin, trying to look like he was thinking carefully. "A 1-on-1 is good. I might as well put everything on this one Pokemon." He pulled a ball from his belt and threw it. "Go, Charmander!"  
  
Misty nodded. "Very well. Then Misty calls Bluescale!" A large blue dragon emerged and dropped into the pool. It let out a loud shriek, causing Charmander to cower slightly.  
  
"What is that thing?" Blaine cried frantically.  
  
Misty grinned. "Oh, her? This is my Gyarados, Bluescale."  
  
Blaine had no response. He was paralyzed with fear, as was his Pokemon. Growlithe, the only one on that side who had kept his senses, blew a blast of fire at Blaine's head. The flames cleared his mind and he focused on the enormous dragon. That is, until Ash walked back in. He spotted Charmander and flipped out immediately.  
  
"What do you think you are doing?!" Ash screamed. "Don't you know that Charmander's tail is its life source? If that flame gets put out, Charmander will die!"  
  
Blaine froze. He had forgotten about that, so he had a choice to make now. He could battle and risk Charmander's life, or he could forfeit. Either wasn't a pleasant thought, but he knew what he had to do. "I forfeit this match. Return, Charmander."  
  
The lizard had other plans, though. When the red beam shot at him, he jumped to avoid it. Blaine tried again, but the Pokemon leaned to the side and the beam hit the water behind him. "Charmander, I'm not going to risk your life for a battle. Now get in your Poke-" He was cut short as another blast of fire hit him, this one from Charmander.  
  
The fire-type started talking to Blaine in his own language, waving his small arms around, trying to get the point across. Blaine crossed his arms and said, "So you want to battle even though you might...die?" Charmander nodded, and Blaine sighed. "You won't give up, will you?" Charmander shook his head, and Blaine sighed again.  
  
"Hellooooo! Are you battling or not?" Misty called out impatiently.  
  
After another nod from his Pokemon, Blaine said, reluctantly, "Yes, we are."  
  
"Then let us begin."  
  
Ash suddenly noticed Bluescale. "What is that?!" He pulled out his Pokedex to find out if this thing would eat him, or just crush him in one blow.  
  
"Gyarados. The atrocious Pokemon. It has been said that during past wars, this Pokemon would appear and leave blazing ruins in its wake."  
  
Ash turned green. "That doesn't sound good for Charmander." But Blaine wasn't listening.  
  
"Charmander, Flamethrower attack!" The flame hit the dragon directly between the eyes, but she didn't even feel it.  
  
"Show that pathetic excuse for a reptile what real fire is! Dragon Rage attack, now!" From Bluescale's mouth, which was already open, flew a blast of blue-green fire. It smashed into the platform underneath Charmander, sending the small Pokemon soaring into the wall. He fell down, and a small indentation, one barely visible to the naked eye, was left in the wall.  
  
Charmander got back up, his eyes glowing. But unlike Blaine and Growlithe, his eyes were glowing white, not red. Soon his whole body was glowing white, and was changing shape. From the back of his head sprouted a single horn, not very large, and the claws on his feet and hands grew to twice the size they were previously. The light faded, and a red lizard stood there, about a foot-and-a-half larger than Charmander.  
  
"What is that?" Ash and Blaine, now very wide-eyed, murmured at the same time.  
  
"Charmeleon. The flame Pokemon. It is very hot-headed by nature, so it constantly seeks opponents, only calming down once it wins."  
  
"How did it evolve so quickly?" asked Ash. "You just got it today."  
  
"I said that it was a high level, didn't I?" Ash shook his head, causing Blaine to shrug. "Doesn't matter. Now we can show that overgrown lizard who's boss! Use your Flamethrower attack again!" Charmeleon launched his fiery breath again, this time forcing Bluescale to back up to avoid getting burned. He fired shot after shot of flame, and the blue dragon backed up until her back hit the pool wall.  
  
An enraged Misty shouted, "Use a Surf attack!" Bluescale's large tail flew up and smashed down on the water, causing a giant wave to form. The wave crashed towards Charmeleon, who had his eyes closed slightly, and began picking up speed.  
  
"Charmeleon, look out!" Blaine screamed. Charmeleon kept his focus and unleashed his energy, bounding high into the air, over the wave and onto Bluescale's head.  
  
The dragon started shaking his head ferociously, trying to send the other Pokemon flying. Charmeleon used the claws on his hands and feet and hooked them into Bluescale's blue scales, latching himself in place. Try as she might, the blue Pokemon just couldn't send the lizard flying.  
  
"Bluescale, use Tail Whip!"  
  
Blaine shook his head. "She's not thinking anymore. She's being driven by her desire to win, and she's lost all logic." Bluescale's tail came smashing down on her own head, but Charmeleon wasn't there anymore. He then came crashing back down on her head. The Gyarados, lost in blind rage, kept attacking herself, while Charmeleon kept avoiding it.  
  
Misty calmed down and closed her eyes. The water near her grew calm also, and she seemed to emit a light blue aura. Bluescale calmed also, and she held her tail still, letting Charmeleon jump while realizing he fell into a trap. He landed back on the dragon's head and the tail came. It smashed the lizard from the side, sending him to the same spot on the wall he hit when he was still Charmander.  
  
"How'd she do that?!" Blaine yelled.  
  
Misty opened her eyes slowly. "Bluescale has a nasty temper, and is often blinded by her rage. I recently discovered that I have the ability to calm her down." She smirked as she said this. "She was, after all, my first Pokemon."  
  
Ash nodded. "That sounds right. I've heard that some trainers develop an ability with their first Pokemon. You have one too, Blaine."  
  
Blaine said, puzzled, "I do?"  
  
"Yeah. Remember when you battled Brock? Yours and Growlithe's eyes turned red. That's when he used his Flamethrower attack."  
  
"Hmm, we'll talk about this later. I have a badge to win now! Charmeleon, Slash attack!" Charmeleon, who had been recovering his energy, leapt at Bluescale, bringing his claws across her face. He landed back on a floating platform as Bluescale whipped her tail where he had been a split-second ago.  
  
"Bluescale, finish this! Hyper Beam! Blast the whole pool!" The blue dragon opened her mouth even wider than it was. Small white particles converged in the center, forming a large, white ball.  
  
"No!" Blaine gasped. "Hyper Beam is one of the most powerful attacks ever known!" He then smiled. "Charmeleon, jump high and to your left when I say!"  
  
Bluescale was almost finished charging, as the ball all but filled her mouth. The attack finished charging, and an eerie silence permeated through the Gym. Then all heck was released. The searing white beam shot forward, rippling the air around it.  
  
"NOW!"  
  
At Blaine's command, Charmeleon jumped high and to the side, avoiding the glowing beam. The laser crashed into the water and Bluescale swept her head around, directing the beam all around the pool. The blinding white light allowed no one to see, including the dragon. She blindly aimed her attack, hoping it would hit home.  
  
It never did. When the attack stopped and the light subsided, Charmeleon was standing on the side of the pool, unharmed, while his opponent was recharging her energy. She was having a difficult time doing it, however, as there was little water left in the pool.  
  
"What?" Misty screeched. "Where is all the water?"  
  
Blaine, on the other end of the pool, spit out a stream of water. He did not look cheerful, and most people in his position wouldn't. Drenched head to toe in water, he shivered at the slight breeze in the Gym. He was extremely happy though, because he now had the chance to win. "Charmeleon, get it there and hit that Gyarados with everything you got!"  
  
The Pokemon jumped into the empty pool and ran to the dragon. He then slashed, kicked, and blasted her for everything he was worth. It was only a few seconds before Bluescale dropped over, exhausted.  
  
"Waaaaaahhhhhh!" Misty was wailing at the top of her lungs as she recalled her Pokemon. "How could you beat Bluescale with a Charmeleon? Fire-types are weak against water-types!"  
  
Blaine grumbled, "How many times will I have to say that it is not just the type that matters?"  
  
Misty slowly admitted defeat to herself and walked over to Blaine. She held out her hand and a small teardrop was in it. She handed it to Blaine while saying, "I concede defeat and hand over the Cascadebadge."  
  
Blaine took it and then twitched. Misty looked at him funny and he twitched again. As she was about to ask what the matter was, he screamed, "MUST GET DRY!" and ran out the door.  
  
Ash started to run after him, but Misty stopped him. "Wait Ash." She pulled out a Poke Ball. "I have a request to make. I have a Squirtle here, but since Squirtle don't like to stay in one place for very long, I want you or Blaine to take it with you. If you don't mind, of course."  
  
Ash looked at the Poke Ball, then back at Misty and smiled. "I'd be glad to help."  
  
Misty looked very relieved. "Thanks. I didn't want to keep it here, but I also didn't want to give it to just anyone. Who will take it, you or Blaine?"  
  
This was one of those few times when Ash didn't have to think, but did anyway. "Well, seeing as how Blaine only trains fire-types, I guess I'll take it." Misty handed the Poke Ball over to him and he held it out in front of him. "I'd better do this right. I caught a Squirtle!"  
  
"Caught? I gave it to you."  
  
Ash grinned sheepishly and said, "Oh, yeah."  
  
Misty shook her head. "Anyway, tell Blaine that I want a rematch someday. Same goes for you."  
  
Ash nodded. "Sure thing," he said, and ran out of the Gym to find his friend.  
  
~~~~~  
  
AN: Okay, just another week and a half and chapters will be coming out much quicker. Evil school... Anyway, the disclaimer is now in my bio, so you won't see it here anymore. 


	7. Psychofish

AN: .............I'm so ashamed.............  
  
Of Flame and Ash  
  
Chapter 7: Psychofish  
  
"Sounds like you and Misty have a thing for each other..."  
  
Ash, Blaine, Pikachu, and Growlithe were walking down the road with Blaine teasing Ash, which wasn't very unusual.  
  
"We do not! We're not even friends!" Ash said. "Besides, everything she said about me was said about you, too."  
  
Blaine said thoughtfully, "Hmmm, masters of fire and water... Wait a minute, what am I saying?!" He shuddered and said to Ash, "Alright, I'll lay off," then muttered under his breath, "for now."  
  
Ash chuckled, not having heard the last two words. "Where are we headed anyway?"  
  
Taking out his map and showing it to Ash, he pointed to the route they were on. "We're on Route 5 headed to Saffron City. Once we get there, we'll keep going to-"  
  
"Wait, what about the Gym in Saffron?" Ash interrupted.  
  
Blaine shook his head. "The Gym Leader is Sabrina. She is a psychic who trains psychic Pokemon, which also happen to be psychic. To beat her we would have to be-"  
  
"Psychic?" Ash interjected.  
  
"No, better trainers than we are now." He frowned at Ash. "Now as I saying before I was so rudely interrupted, we'll keep going past Saffron to Route 6 and take that to Vermilion City. We should get there in about a day if we walk straight through Saffron."  
  
"Hey!" A dual voice rang out, causing the two boys to raise their heads. A boy and a girl were walking jogging towards them. As they got closer, Blaine could see that they were twins.  
  
They both had light brown hair and were dressed similarly in black T-shirts with plain blue jeans. They also wore wristbands, red on the girl and blue on the boy.  
  
"Can we help you?" Blaine asked.  
  
The boy nodded. "My name is Christopher, Chris for short."  
  
The girl continued, "And my name is Kristin, also Kris for short."  
  
"Blaine."  
  
"I'm Ash."  
  
"We were wondering..."  
  
"...if you want to battle."  
  
"Sure thing," Ash and Blaine said in unison.  
  
"How about..." Chris started.  
  
"...a 2-on-2?" Kris finished. When the other two nodded, they both threw a Poke Ball forward.  
  
"Go, Nidorino!"  
  
"Go, Nidorina!"  
  
Blaine raised his eyebrows. "I guess they mean at the same time." He pulled a Poke Ball from his belt. "Charmeleon, go!"  
  
"I choose you, Squirtle!" Ash shouted as his own ball flew out.  
  
Two rhinos, one aqua and the other purple, a red lizard, and a blue turtle stood between the two sets of trainers as the battle began.  
  
"Nidorino/a, Tackle attack!" the twins shouted together. The male charged at Charmeleon, while the female at Squirtle.  
  
"Squirtle, use Withdraw!"  
  
"Flamethrower, Charmeleon!"  
  
Squirtle pulled inside his shell as the racing aqua blur rammed into him. He flew through the air in a very ungraceful arc, pulling out of his shell after smashing into the ground, completely unharmed. The same could not be said for Nidorino however. He charged right into the blast of searing flame. Quickly rolling out of its path, he Tackled Charmeleon from the side, knocking the Pokemon away.  
  
"Charmeleon, use Tail Whip!" Blaine shouted. But Charmeleon wasn't listening anymore. He blasted another stream of flame at Nidorino, missing as the Pokemon leapt to the side.  
  
Ash, on the other hand, was faring much better than his friend. "Squirtle, Water Gun attack!" A jet of water shot from the small turtle's mouth, smashing into Nidorina.  
  
"Use Fury Swipes, Nidorina!" Kris yelled, unknowingly into her twin's ear.  
  
Chris brought his hands up to his head and said, "Owww... Do you have to be so loud?" Kris grinned sheepishly.  
  
"Sorry," she said as she watched her Pokemon bring her claws across Squirtle multiple times, "but I just can't help it."  
  
Squirtle launched an unannounced Headbutt directly into Nidorina's unprotected belly, then blasted another jet of water at the face of the Pokemon, and finished by delivering a jarring Tail Whip to the side of the head. Due to the small size of Squirtle's tail, the attack did nothing more than stun his opponent for a second, but it was all the time Squirtle needed. He pulled back his hand and curled it into a fist as it began to glow with a fierce blue light.  
  
Ash stared at Squirtle with a look of amazement. " Is... That's... He's using Ice Punch!" he finally stammered.  
  
Sure enough, the turtle unleashed a freezing blow as he performed an uppercut, connecting with Nidorina's chin. Frost erupted from Squirtle's hand and snaked around Nidorina, leaving her in a thin, yet durable chunk of ice.  
  
Ash thrust his fist into the air. "Victory!" he declared. He and Squirtle turned and watched the outcome of Blaine's battle.  
  
Charmeleon was by now in full blown rage. Both trainers knew that if Charmeleon hit Nidorino, the match would be over. Unfortunately, (for Blaine, mind you) Nidorino was too fast for the flame Pokemon. Every time Charmeleon attacked, Nidorino would dodge and deliver a Tackle to any open part of his opponent's body.  
  
It wasn't very long before Charmeleon fell. After one final Flamethrower, Nidorino hopped to the side and rammed Charmeleon full force, knocking him into a nearby tree.  
  
"Charmeleon!" Blaine's face had gone pale. He slowly pulled out a Poke Ball and recalled Charmeleon. His arm fell limp and he looked at the ground.  
  
"I...lost."  
  
Ash walked over and patted his friend on the back. "It's okay, just look at me, I've lost plenty of times."  
  
Blaine didn't look up. "But the difference is that I haven't. I always win."  
  
"But what about Brock? Didn't you lose to him?"  
  
"The first time I faced him was after I met you." Blaine said.  
  
"Oh." Ash seemed lost for words. "Um, well..." Inspiration suddenly struck him. "As long as you realize the mistakes you made, you didn't really lose, you won!"  
  
Blaine looked at Ash and raised an eyebrow. After a tense silence, he burst out laughing.  
  
"What's so funny?" Ash asked.  
  
Blaine stopped laughing long enough to answer. "You! You - do you have any idea how stupid you sounded?" Ash just crossed his arms and frowned.  
  
"Um, excuse me?"  
  
Ash unfolded his arms and turned around as Blaine wiped his eyes and did the same.  
  
The twins were standing next to each other. "We have to tell you the real reason we wanted to battle." Kris said. When neither of the boys said anything, she continued. "We live in a small village near Vermilion City."  
  
"Our village is being attacked by a Pokemon from the sea, and we volunteered to go find some help," Chris said.  
  
Ash nodded. "So that's why you battled us," he said. "You needed to find good trainers."  
  
The twins nodded as Blaine's eye twitched. "Did you say from the sea? As in water Pokemon? As in WATER?!"  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
After a couple more hours of walking, Ash and Blaine had been given a rundown on what they would be facing.  
  
It wasn't very large, about the size of a Ponyta, but it used a variety of elemental attacks, ranging from its obvious water attacks, to the rare Dragon Rage.  
  
"Well," Blaine said slowly, "normally I would say that it is a dragon, judging by the range of attacks known only to dragons and those similar to them. However," He paused while everybody watched him, "the only known small dragon Pokemon are Dratini, Magikarp, and Charmander.  
  
"Charmander only learns its dragon moves at its highest evolution, Charizard. And even then, it still cannot learn water moves. Magikarp is incapable of learning anything even resembling a strong move. The only Pokemon that could learn those moves at that size would be Dratini. But it would have to be extremely powerful, and the chances of finding a Dratini like that un-evolved are very slim. Approximately 6847 to 1, to be exact."  
  
Everyone, bar Growlithe, stared at him with open mouths. "How do you know all that?" Ash asked.  
  
"Ash, we've been over this before. Just because you don't use libraries doesn't mean anybody else does either. I've been studying Pokemon for about seven years now in between training," Blaine said. "How else do you think I would be able to become a Gym Leader? If I didn't know how to handle different Pokemon, I'd never make it."  
  
"Yeah, but-" Ash started.  
  
"We're here," Chris said shortly.  
  
The two trainers stopped bickering and looked up at the village. It was smaller than any city that either of them had been to, including Pallet Town. The houses were made out of bamboo, but in no way looked primitive. They ranged in size from the size of one-room to the size of a three-story house. The roofs were made of large dark-red leaves from nearby trees. A wide river ran into a large lake in the middle of the town, and a dam could be seen some distance down the river.  
  
Blaine and Ash, along with the Pokemon, gaped at the sight. "Where are we?" Blaine asked.  
  
Kris smiled. "Welcome, to Maroon Village, about twenty miles from Vermilion City."  
  
Blaine looked around. "Where is the Pokemon Center?" Kris pointed to the building next to them and Blaine and Ash ran inside. They came out a minute later, each one Poke Ball lighter.  
  
Blaine looked at the lake. "Is that where the attacks have been coming from?"  
  
Chris nodded. "Lake Jeboinya? Yeah. We think that it stays farther down the river, because we've searched the lake and found nothing."  
  
Ash raised an eyebrow. "How come the two of you aren't finishing each other's sentences anymore?"  
  
"That was just our battle show, to make people think we'd do it during battle too," Kris admitted sheepishly. "The thing is, it usually worked."  
  
Suddenly, Ash noticed a slight fog coming in. Even as he looked, it grew thicker and thicker, until they lost sight of most of the city. "Uh, guys? Nothing serious, but what is going on with that fog?"  
  
Blaine watched it for a minute, and then said, "No fog comes in this quickly. This is a Pokemon's Mist attack." Everyone's head snapped toward the lake. "Yeah, I think we found our friend."  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
Once they reached the lake, they looked frantically around to try and find the mysterious Pokemon.  
  
"Hello? Anything out here?" Blaine yelled in the direction of the water, which, fortunately, he couldn't see very well.  
  
"Blaine!" Ash hissed. "Be quiet! It'll find us!"  
  
"Well, duh. That's the idea. How are we going to help if we don't find it?"  
  
"Um, well, maybe if we all go inside it will just go away," Ash said meekly.  
  
Blaine was about to pull out his hammer when he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. A shadow in the lake was swimming towards them through the fog. Within seconds, it emerged into full view. It had orange scales and white fins, two long, yellow whiskers, and a large gaping mouth.  
  
"No way," Blaine said slowly. "You brought us out here for this? For a MAGIKARP?!"  
  
True enough, the Pokemon was a Magikarp. It looked at everyone in turn. At Chris and Kris, who were inching away slowly, at Ash, who had an eyebrow raised while watching the twins, and at Blaine, who had a look of extreme displeasure on his face.  
  
"I mean," Blaine started, "it's only a fish. "How can it do anything to-" He was cut short by a blast of water that threw him backward ten feet. He got back up and saw Ash looking at the fish with an expression of amazement on his face. That was all the evidence he needed.  
  
"THAT'S IT!" he screamed. "WE'RE HAVING FISH STICKS FOR DINNER TONIGHT!"  
  
He threw a Poke Ball forward and shouted, "Ponyta, Growlithe, go! Toast that stupid fish!" He glared at Ash and shouted, "Well, are you going to help or not?!"  
  
"Right," Ash said as he quickly threw out a Poke Ball. "Pikachu, Diglett, I choose you! Give it everything you got!"  
  
A flame jet, a flame spiral, and an electric shock crashed into the fish. Diglett, who had no attacks to launch, just sat back, hoping that the fish would be blasted onto land. No such thing happened however. Magikarp merely shook off the attacks and launched a new attack: Dragon Rage.  
  
The small fish began to swim rapidly in a circle, forming a whirlpool as it swam. The whirlpool suddenly erupted into a large swirling cyclone of water. Magikarp looked at its opponents to smash them with its new terror, only to find that they had disappeared. It let the typhoon die down, and then submerged itself again, retreating to darker waters.  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
Back at the Pokemon Center, Ash, Chris, and Growlithe were trying to dissuade Blaine from going back outside, where it was now pouring heavily, to face the water  
  
Pokemon. That meant that they were using all their strength to hold him back.  
  
"You can't go out there Blaine!" Ash was yelling. "One, it's pouring. Two, we don't stand a chance against that thing! And three," he put his mouth next to Blaine's ear and said softly, "you'll get wet." Blaine calmed down considerably.  
  
Kris, who had been standing back watching them while trying to suppress a laugh, said, "Well, at least now we know what we're up against."  
  
Blaine slumped down into a chair and said sullenly, "Yeah, the equivalent of a fully evolved and powerful Gyarados. Because that's what that thing is."  
  
"There's one thing I don't understand though," Chris muttered. "How did a Magikarp get that strong? Even the strongest Magikarp have trouble taking out a low level fire Pokemon."  
  
"That's because fire Pokemon are more intelligent than that stupid fish," Blaine mumbled, but no one heard him. He continued louder. "Long ago, Magikarp were as powerful as Gyarados are today. But over time, their power weakened, until they became the useless fish they are today."  
  
"Which would make this an ancient Magikarp."  
  
Everyone looked at the new person in the room. He was tall, about 6 feet, and wore a dark blue sweater over a black t-shirt, and wore plain black jeans. His medium brown hair was very bushy and stuck up at odd angles. A flowing black cape adorned his back, and was held together in the front by a small, metal button, decorated with a five-pointed star.  
  
"Hey Matt," Chris said casually. "Guys, this is Matthew. He's a well-known trainer around here."  
  
"I would have dealt with this myself," Matt said, "but I was away training for a while. But now that I'm back, I say we deal with it right now."  
  
"Here, here!" Blaine jumped from his seat and walked briskly to the door. He paused at it, grabbed a raincoat from the door, yanked it on, and looked back. "Well, sitting around here isn't going to get rid of that psychofish, so let's go already!"  
  
Everyone nodded and followed Blaine except for Ash. He remained in his seat, looking puzzled. Finally, he said to himself, "Psychofish?"  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
The rain had lightened up slightly, but there was still a considerable amount of it coming down. Halfway to the lake, it was realized that Ash wasn't with him. "Where is he?" Blaine yelled.  
  
"I think he said something about protecting the Center," Matt replied with a hint of amusement.  
  
Blaine simply looked at Growlithe and jerked his thumb in the direction they had come from. Growlithe trotted off, and a minute later was seen nipping at Ash's heels, herding him forward.  
  
"Now if we're all set," Blaine said dryly, looking straight at Ash, "we can get this over with now."  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
In the dark depths of Lake Jeboinya, only one thing moved. Everything else had fled with the coming of the horrific creature, which now swam swiftly to the shore. "So the humans want a fight?" it thought to itself. "Even if he is with them, they can't defeat me! Mwahahahah!"  
  
Magikarp emerged from the waters and saw the group of humans standing on the edge of the lake. Nine Pokemon stood in front of them, ready to attack. Magikarp's small eyes swept over them quickly, taking count. "The Growlithe, Ponyta, and Charmeleon will be easily taken care of, as will the Diglett, Squirtle, and Golbat. The Nidos shouldn't be too much trouble, but it would be best not to underestimate them. The Pikachu is the only one that would pose a threat, so it'll be the first to go."  
  
Immediately after seeing the orange fish, the Pokemon launched their respective attacks. Three flames, a lightning bolt, a jet of water, many small needles, and supersonic waves were released upon the fish. Rather than sit and get hit by them, Magikarp leapt into the air and fired a burst of water at the incoming flames, extinguishing them. The thunder struck the water below him, as did the poison needles. It was hit full blast by the Supersonic, though, but the re-impact with the water shook the confusion off quickly.  
  
Magikarp countered by surfacing, inhaling deeply, and then expelling a blue- green flame at Pikachu. The mouse quickly sprung to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack, but Ponyta wasn't so lucky. The flame wrapped around her as she shrieked, casting an aqua light around everyone. When the flames subsided, Ponyta was on the ground, unconscious.  
  
"Ponyta!" Blaine was at her side, trying to wake her up, or at least get a response, as the others moved went on the defensive.  
  
"Be careful of its Dragon Rage attack," Matt warned. "It can take on different elements, depending on how the user, um, uses it. Now, Golbat, Hyper Beam!" Golbat flew up over everyone else's heads, out of the range of Magikarp, and started charging her beam.  
  
The prehistoric fish noted this and chuckled to itself. "Do they think they can actually defeat me? Hah! I will show them what true power is." It began glowing with an eerie yellow color, then let off an enormous burst of electricity at Golbat. But Golbat had finished charging by now, and flew lower to avoid the lightning and get closer to Magikarp.  
  
"Now!" was the only command Golbat needed. In a blast of white light, the fish was sent flying - and landed right next to Blaine.  
  
Blaine started smiling, but this was the type of smile you would expect to see on a deranged killer right before he gets his next victim. Even Magikarp cowered slightly. Blaine reached over and picked up the orange Pokemon slowly. He held it over his head and proclaimed, "Victory is ours!"  
  
"Uh, Blaine?" Ash said meekly. "I don't think that's such a good-" He was cut short as a freezing gale passed over the fire trainer, encasing all but his hands in ice, and enabling the attacker to flop free.  
  
Then Magikarp became very still, even though he was on land. The rain suddenly came to a halt, and the clouds turned black.  
  
Ash started shouting. "This must be Dragon Rage, but of the thunder type! It's creating a thunder storm!"  
  
Closing its eyes, Magikarp began calling the power of the storm to itself. Eight bolts of lightning crashed downwards to the Pokemon still conscious. Right before they hit, though, Magikarp's concentration was disrupted - by an Ultra Ball. The lightning disappeared as soon as it hit the fish. Magikarp was so taken aback, it didn't even get a chance to struggle. The ball hadn't shaken once. Its only thought as the ball closed around it was, "How?"  
  
-|*~*|-  
  
The next morning, Blaine was in another one of his good/bad moods. He was happy that 'psychofish', as he had dubbed it, had been taken care of, and thus his thirst for revenge had been satisfied - partially. "I ain't showing any more mercy to those stupid fish," he was heard to mumble occasionally.  
  
Add that to the fact that it had taken three hours to unfreeze him, and you have a very grouchy, yet pleased, pyromaniac.  
  
"Are we leaving yet? I want to get to Vermillion some time before I die, you know." Yep, *very* grouchy.  
  
"All right, all right, hold your Ponytas."  
  
"I only have one, and besides, I can't even lift a Ponyta, let alone hold one."  
  
Ash turned back to Kris, Chris, and Matt. "Well, we've got to get going, or else I'm going to be incinerated, smashed with a mallet, and God-knows-what- else." He turned to Matt. "Congratulations on catching that Magikarp. It'll be a great way to lower your opponent's guard."  
  
He reached out and shook each of their hands and turned to walk back to Blaine. "Hey, wait." Ash turned around in time to duck as a book went flying over his head. Blaine leaned forward and snatched it before it hit the ground.  
  
"I think the idea was to catch the book, Ash," Blaine said with a grin.  
  
Matt spoke up, indicating that he threw the book. "That is a book of all the Gym Leaders in Kanto. I saw the badges and figured you were taking the Pokemon League Challenge." He continued as they nodded. "So are you competing in the tournament or facing the Elite Four?"  
  
Ash raised an eyebrow and looked at Blaine. "What tournament?" Blaine just shrugged.  
  
"I guess that means the Elite. Well, good luck, whichever path you may take."  
  
As Blaine and Ash left, the twins went home, but Matt stayed and watched the boys until they were out of sight. "I have a feeling that we'll meet again someday, but under much different circumstances..."  
  
~~~~~  
  
AN: 5 months... It took me 5 months to write this chapter... I'm pathetic... Oh well, hopefully chapters will come out faster now that I crushed my writer's block into itty-bitty pieces with Blaine's hammer. 


End file.
